Meet the Edenians
by nivet
Summary: Lui Kang has defeated the mightiest foes the Mortal Kombat universe has to offer. But if he wants to move forward in his relationship with Kitana, he must face a foe he cannot simply performe a fatality on. Her father.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N_

_I'm gonna go ahead and try my hand at some comedy. Sorry if I fail. This is my second story that I am beginning. I imagine Star Wars is my next stop. I really like the Mortal Kombat series because it has characters and a story that hold up outside of the fighting. If it isn't already obvious, this is a Parody of Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. If your wondering why I'm basing this around Lui Kang and Kitana's relationship, it is because I've read many fics where Mileena is often givien the short end of the stick. So I figured I'd knock the two of them down a couple of pegs. Reviews and suggestions are appreciated._

* * *

><p>Lui Kang and Kitana stepped through the portal into Edenia from the Nexus.<p>

They were in the capital city, where the royal palace was located. Despite Shao Kahn's invasion, the city seemed to have rebuilt rather quickly. Small yet well kept houses ran all along the streets, occasionally broken up by a larger townhouse. People were relaxing with family and friends, and children were getting into mischief. The sweet smells of freshly baked goods came from a bakery nearby. A fountain spouted water in a large park filled with healthy trees.

The entire sight was heartwarming, but Lui Kang's heart was beating too fast for him to enjoy it. He had faced down powerful enemies like Goro, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, and Shinnok to protect Earthrealm. And here he was sweating bullets just thinking about meeting Kitana's parents. More specifically, her father Jerrod. Lui had already met Sindel, albeit she was under the control of Kahn and she tried to kill them. After being freed however, she completely turned over a new leaf and was very anxious to get reacquainted with her family.

According to Kitana the people who were going to be stainying at the palace with them also included Jade and Mileena. He was happy about Jade being there, as she was Kitana's best friend and took a liking to Lui. On the other hand, he was nervous about Mileena. According to Sindel and Kitana, she was trying to fit in with the family, but she was still a killing machine with the mind of a child. A very, very troubled child.

"You feeling okay?" Kitana's sweet voice did help to calm his nerves.

_"_Oh yeah, great, just fine." He lied with little finesse.

_"_I can tell that you aren't. You really are the worst liar." She poked at him playfully.

_"_I don't know, I guess I'm just worried about meeting your dad for the first time."

_"_You have nothing to worry about! If he accepted Mileena into the circle, what are the odds that he is gonna have a problem with you?" She said as they were walking down the street towards the palace.

_"_What? A circle? What circle?" Lui asked with reinvigorated anxiety.

"Its nothing really. My dad just thinks of it as a group of people he trusts with the welfare of this family. Its been an ideal my family has been endowed with for generations."

Lui pondered that thought for a moment. Edenians could live for thousands of years. If this circle of trust thing has been a central part of Kitana's family for several generations, it must be pretty damn important to be a part of it. Speaking of which,

"And just who is a part of this circle of trust?" He asked with as much suspicion as curiosity.

" Oh well, all the people you expect. Dad and mom, of course. Then there is myself, Jade because she is like family to us, and Mileena because she is technically my sister, and dad absolutley refuses to exclude her. I think he enjoys having someone who is like a child around for him to be a daddy's little girl." She finished, but a quick glance of her eyes meeting his before looking to the ground gave her away.

"Your a terrible liar to, you know that." He said with a smile as he pulled her close to him while continuing towards the palace.

"Who else is a part of this _circle of trust?" _He asked kindheartedly.

"No one else, really. Like I said, it includes me, Sindel, Jerrod, Jade, Mileena, and, um, well, Rain" She said the last name quietly, but not nearly quiet enough.

Lui almost fell over when the news made him temporarily lose his footing.

"Rain!" He said rather loudly.

Other people walking the street heard him, and more than one looked into the sky with a puzzled look on their face. Realizing he was causing something of a scene, the couple continued onward to the palace, though at a more hurried pace and a slightly awkward gait from Lui Kang.

"Calm down, it isn't a big deal."

"Isn't a big deal!" His voice quieted down considerably, but increased in intensity and panic to match.

"How is a demi god, formerly Shao Kahn's top ranking general, _your _ex fiance being a part of some ancient square of trust that I'm just hearing about now not a big deal!" He took a breath and looked at Kitana expectantly.

A fire that appeared in her eyes and voice made him back down a bit, while oddly turning him on slightly at the same time.

"First of all, its circle of trust. Second, Rain and I were being forced to get married, and that was when I thought that Shao Kahn was my father, and third,"

Her expression softened so that she looked very sincere.

"Third, it isn't a big deal because you are amazing. Jade and mother already love, and Mileena, will warm up to you in her own way. And Rain is only a part of this circle because he is a sycophant in front of my father. He will love to call you son." She finished with a smile that, coupled with her alluring lips, perfect nose, and intense yet welcoming eyes hidden slightly by smooth brunette hair, made a face that was impossible to disagree with.

Damn, he thought to himself. He was puddy in her hands at this point. They arrived at the palace gate where too sentries stood vigilantly. As they crossed through, one sentry nodded to Lui, who returned the gesture, and he bowed his head low to Kitana.

"Welcome home princess. Mistress Jade just arrived not an hour ago and asked for me to inform you of her desire to speak with you." He said without raising his back.

She placed her hand on his armored shoulder and thanked him. The second sentry who was looking in a different direction turned and realized that the princess was two steps away from him. He snapped to attention in uncomfortable manner and bowed his head.

"Gr-Greetings Princess Kitana, it is an honor." He stammered, and sounded noticeably younger than his partner.

Being taller than her and looking down, the young man found himself staring directly at her large, prominent, and barely hidden breasts. He looked up with horror in his eyes, and despite wearing a full face helm, it was likely that he was blushing.

Kitana gave him a look of a single razed eyebrow and a smug grin that showed that he had been caught red handed. Lui saw the older sentry face palm because of his bumbling partner

"Continue on with the good work men. I'll pass on the good word of you to General Jade." She said as she continued on. Lui followed behind her and the peeping sentry bowed to him as well and begged his pardon. Lui smiled reassuringly to him. Truth be told, he was surprised that more people didn't stare at Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Sonya, and even Sindel. Their attire was rather revealing, especially Mileena's.

The couple continued on, and the both of them spared a quick glance back to see the more professional sentry smack the other across his helmet.

"What I do?"

"You don't use greeting the princess as an excuse to ogle her cleavage! Especially not on your first day. You do realize that her best friend is one of the army's generals, don't you? Not to mention that Kitana can kick your ass to the Neatherrealm and back."

The younger sentry turned and stared in their direction, probably scared for his job. Lui couldn't help but smile.

At least I'm not the only one having a rough first day.

The palace looked different on the inside. All traces of Shao Kahn had been cleansed. The blood red drapes that had covered the windows were removed to reveal amethyst colored glass that cast a beautiful glow on the interior. Servants were going to and fro carrying everything from laundry, to food, to decorations. It was a refreshing change of pace from the Tarkatans and hulking sadistic executioners that normally stalked the halls of the palace.

Kitana stopped in the entrance to the throne room. She stared thoughtfully into the room, wincing when her gaze fell on the huge throne. Her memory was littered with the times that she had stood next to it, waiting on the call of her false father. All the terrible things she had done while loyal to that man marred her otherwise pleasant returning to the Edenia she loved. Lui's arm wrapped around her and lead her way.

"You aren't the tool that Kahn treated you as, and you shouldn't let those memories ruin your return home."

She nodded to him wordlessly. She knew he was right, but it was still hard to let these things go.

"Your right. Kahn is gone now, and Earthrealm and Edenia are rebuilding. I need to be here for my people if I'm going to take the throne one day." She sounded much more confident in herself.

Across the hall a figure clad, rather scantily, in green clothes stood straight with her hands crossed behind her back.

"Welcome home, princess."

Kitana took maybe three steps before breaking into flat out sprint, closing the distance of twenty feet in seconds.

Jade unclapsed her hands from behind her back and embraced Kitana in a hug that nearly knocked her off her feet from the speed. It had been nearly four months since they had seen each other in Earthrealm during Kahns invasion.

"Its been too long my friend." Kitana said without breaking the hug. Lui had finally made his way over to the to women. He couldn't help but grin at the scene. Along with Kitana, Jade was one of the most beautiful women he had ever scene. Her dark skin, emerald green eyes, hair similar to Kitana's but kept in a more functional style. Not to mention her curvaceous body, slim and fit belly, long legs leading up to a firm round buttox.

Almost mimicking the sentry outside, Lui was caught staring. Jade smiled her mischievous smile and began walking towards him. He gulped loudly.

"I hope your not too busy admiring the _decor _to say hello, Lui Kang." She said playfully as she hugged him.

That was another thing about Jade. She was intelligent and had the wit to break the ice of almost any situation, or cut you to ribbons if you made her angry.

"Never to busy to say hello Jade. You look good."

"I know." She giggled softly.

"You, on the other hand, look like your ready too pass out."

He sighed, he thought he had left the feeling of nausea at the front gate, but it was impossible to keep anything from Jade.

"Well, I am pretty nervous about meeting Jerrod."

"I would imagine so after everything Kitana told you about him.

"Yeah, the whole circle of trust thing was surprising, and I won't even mention how I felt when I learned that Rain was a part of it."

Jade looked puzzled.

"Wait, you mean she didn't tell you that,"

Behind Lui, Kitana was running her hand across her throat, a signal for Jade to avoid what she was about to tell Lui.

"That, Mileena is staying her as well?" She used all of her cunning to make sure she didn't give herself away.

"Oh no, I know about Mileena. It is going to be pretty interesting having her around. If you ladies will excuse me, I need to find a bathroom."

"Down the hall on your left." Jade said with a calmness that Lui was unable to determine as urgency.

He followed her directions and disappeared around the corner. Jade turned to Kitana like an older sister about to scorn her sibling for doing something very stupid.

"I'll tell him, eventually."

"Eventually is coming soon, and I don't think he should face it blindly."

Lui found the bathroom right where Jade said it would be. Apparently, royal bathrooms where about the size of an average Earthrealm living room, though twice as lavishly decorated. Even though Edenians are generally healthier and hardier than regular humans, not mention magically endowed, they seemed to be quite far behind Earthrealm when it came to technology. They did seem to invent indoor pluming, thankfully. He had too drop a deuce like nobodies business because of his nerves wreaking havoc on his stomach, though the spicy deep fried spring rolls he had shared with Kung Lao at the Shaolin monastery just an hour before meeting up with Kitana were making him pay dearly for his indulgence. He pulled the chain hanging from the ceiling to flush the toilet, a rather archaic design compared to Earthrealm toilets. As he turned to leave, he heard a sound that resembled a gurgle one would make when choking on one's own blood. He turned and saw something infinitely more horrifying.

The toilet, filled with his freshly made pile of fecal matter, was backing up!

"Oh shit!" He said to himself. He was too busy having a panic attack to realize his unintended pun.

"Kitana, come her dear!"

Though being nearly fifty feet away, Sindel could be heard as clearly as if she were standing next to you. Her loud voice was her first greeting, as well as her deadliest weapon when the need arises. Sindel met Kitana and Jade half way and embraced her daughter lovingly. Kitana returned the hug with equal pleasure. Despite Sindel trying to kill her when revived by Quan Chi, her regained free will had made her the loving mother Kitana remembered.

"It is so great to see you mother. How have you been? You look exhausted."

"Well trying to get Edenia back into order since regaining the throne will do that to you. Not too mention how stressful its been trying to keep Mileena under control. She really is a sweet girl, sometimes, but her little episodes have been a hassle. She has taken two stealing the guard's weapons, ordering them to chase her to get them back, and then threatens them with their own blades when they finally corner her. Eric, a young fellow you may have seen while on the way in, nearly lost a hand when playing one of Mileena's little games." She said with an exasperated expression."

Kitana couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of the sentry who had been caught staring at her breasts wetting his pants trying to retrieve his sword from her deranged _twin_ sister. He was probably staring at Mileena's barely concealed features as well during that time, considering that her sister dressed even more scandalously than she did.

"How have you and father beend doing together." Kitana asked.

"It is like he never died. He is exactly the same man he was before he died, except for the obvious of course."

"I know, I know." Her father's unique situation was odd, most definitley. But he didn't let it put a damper in his pride or the way he acted in front of his family or in public. He still carried himself with an air of superiority, but also exerted confidence in others. He made you feel like he had everything under control.

"Speaking of father, where is he?"

"Oh he is still at the peace meeting between the Shokans and Centaurs. He wants to make sure that Goro and Motaro can divide up Outworld peacefully."

"Wait, he's in Outworld? Howed he get there?" Kitana asked very curiously.

"He can't manipulate portals yet, so Rain opened a portal to Outworld and joined him at the peace treaty."

"Why did Rain go with him?"

"You know how much your father loves Rain. They both share common interests, like governing and history and kombat."

History? I don't remember Rain being interested in any learning beyond how to take the throne from Shao Kahn. Kitana thought to herself rathea r suspiciously. She quickly dismissed it when a more pressing matter crossed her mind.

"Will Rain be staying here for the next two weeks?"

"Well of course. Your father wouldn't have any of it when Rain insisted that our family get back together without him. You know Jerrod, if your in the circle of trust you are family. Lui Kang won't mind will he?"

"I won't mind what?" Lui Kang asked who had escaped notice when walking into the amidst a group of servants. He had just a trickle of sweat running down his back after trying to get away from the sight of his messy, spring roll filled incident.

Before Sindel could explain, Kitana cut in.

"Lui, we need to have a talk in private. Its about,"

Just then the twin doors into the room were opened with two servants complete with bowed heads and averted eyes entering first, pulling the door as wide as they would go. After the doors were completely opened a tall, confident, purple clad figure radiating power stepped through the entry way. The two servants nearly fell two thier knees when he walked past them.

"My,my. How fortunate I am to find myself in such lovely company. And a Shaolin monk." He said as he shot Lui Kang a rather condesending look. Despite wearing a mask that covered his face from the nose down, he was able to convey attack in his eyes alone.

"Rain,your back." Said Sindel far too excitedley for Lui Kang' taste.

"Greetings your highness." Rain bowed his head.

Sindel threw her arms around him.

"Oh stop it. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Sindel?" She said as Rain threw his arms around her into a hug that lifted her off the ground.

"At least once more." The both of them chuckled as he put her back on the ground.

"Hello Jade, or is it General Jade?" He chuckled, much to satisfied with himself for her taste. Jade took a stepped towards, placed her hand upon his shoulder, looked him in the eye and said,

"Only to you, General Rain." She said this in such a calm voice that it almost gave away the hidden insult.

"Of course it is." He said it in a cheerful voice, but she caught the brief second of anger flare in his eyes. Needless to say it made her smile under her green mask.

"Ah, Kitana, you are looking as beautiful as I rememebr." He extened his hand, palm facing up, and to Lui Kangs chagrin, she rested her hands upon his.

"It is good to see you Rain." She said so without hitch but couldn't help but spare a quick glance at Lui Kang to gauge his response. He seemed passive, at least for the moment.

Rain bowed his head low to her, and if it weren't for his mask, he probably would have kissed her delicate hand. He then turned to Lui Kang, who had been glaring at him since he had entered. The two of them have never actually spoken to each other, but neither of them seemed to be willing to spare the other the benefit of the doubt

"And you are Lui Kang, yes. I understand you are from Earthrealm, and Kitana's boyfriend." He didn't offer his hand in greeting.

"And you are Rain, from what I've heard. I understand you are a demi god, and a general of the Edenian army, and a prince." He didn't offer his hand in greeting either. Then an invisible smile formed on his lips.

"And Kitana's ex fiance." Boo yeah, he thought to himself.

Behind Rain, he could see Kitana give him a withering look, Jade an encouraging one, and Sindel seemed completley oblvious. It was a good thing Rain had his back turned them, as it wouldn't have done his reputation as a confident general much good if they had seen his eye twitch at the comment. A dark,almost violent glare fell on Lui Kang. Since Rain stood 6'4 to his 5'10, was broader in terms of muscle, and had twin daggers at his hilt, Lui Kang admitted to himself that he was a little intimidated.

Before what seemed to be the inevitbability of someone being ripped in half, Sindel unwittededly defused the situation.

"So Rain, how did the meeting between the Shokans and Centaurs go."

"It was going well until two of the highest ranking and most powerful Shokans behind Goro lost thier temper when Motaro suggested that the living forest be turned over to the Centaurs. Jerrod managed to calm Sheeva. He truly is a brilliant democrat. Kintaro, on the other hand, needed to be put in his place. Jerrod was more than capable of handling it, but I insisted that he let me handle the overgrown feline." He stood up even straighter than he was before, impossibly.

"It was no trouble at all."

"So where is my father now?" Asked Kitana, hoping to to help Rain get over himself.

"He should be by soon. He stayed behind at the entrance gate to show some idotic guard how to properly hold his sword. It is a wonder how the little fool hadn't cut off his own head with the way he was flailing about." He turned again to Lui Kang.

"I bet you are eager to meet Jerrod, eh, monk."

"I sure am, prince." He frowned to himself when he realized calling someone prince wasn't very condesending.

"Well thats good, because here he comes now."

All eyes went to the door which once again had two servants preceding the figure who was walking in. Once seeing him, Lui Kang immediately moved forward, shoving Sindel to the ground in the process, and flew into a flying kick. He thought he heard Kitana scream something behind him, but he was commited now. Three feet from where his foot would collide with the chest of his opponent, he stopped dead in the air with a green aura surrounding him. Then he was blasted away and collided with crash onto the half set dining hall table. Before he could recover, the same force had pinned him there with his limbs spread.

"Who are you, to dare assault me and my family in my home!" A mulitude of voices spoke as one.

"Father please, stop! This is my boyfriend!" He released his telekinetic hold on Lui Kang when Kitana reached him.

Father?

"This is Lui Kang, the one you told me about?" The many voices asked.

"Kitana run! Its Ermac!" He shouted as he got back into a fighting stance.

His audience had a varied reaction. Sindel looked looked like she felt sorry for him because of his ignorance, Jade shot Kitana a look that read 'I told you so.', and Kitana had facepalmed with both hands. Rain looked like he was about to keel over from supressed laughter, and Ermac looked rather peeved, though his expression seemed to have softend a little. Sindel came over and stood between the two men.

"Lui, sweetie, I'm afraid there is something that we haven't told you."

He waited for what she had to say, but didn't let Ermac out of his sight.

"When Shang Tsung created Ermac, he use thousands of souls to do it. Jerrod's soul was one of these. When Shao Kahn was destroyed all of the souls withing Ermac's body fought for control of the body. Jerrod prevailed over all of them and has regained his identity, though he is still merged with Ermac's body."

Lui Kang took a few moments to let it all sink in, then felt all the color drain from his face when he realized he now stood ready to put his fist through the chest of Kitana's father, sort of. He abandoned his fighting stance and tried desperatley to think of something, anything that could somehow help him out of this mess. What came out of his mouth was neither intelligent nor flattering.

"Uuhh, shit."

Just then a ruckus could be heard in the hall. Several servants armed to the teeth with cleaning supplies where rushing to the western side of the castle. The one who seemed to be leading this charge was screaming at the others.

"Hurry up! The entire western bathroom has been flooded by that backed up toilet, its starting to spread into the main corridor and thier is shit everywhere! Who's job was it to put up the sign that said 'Do Not Flush'?"

"It was mine sir, I'm sorry but someone in a black and orange tunic with a red headband went in before I had a chance to put up the sign."

Five pairs of eyes fell on Lui Kang, who fit the description of the batroom disaster culprit. They had thier previous expressions of pity, embarrasement, contempt, and barely contained joy.

Lui Kang once again tried to find the words that could help him out. The only words he found were once again unitelligent and unflattering.

"Uuhh, shit."

Biggest understatment ever, as far as the servants cleaning the bathroom were concerned.

* * *

><p><em>So there is my first attempt at a comedy. Sorry if it gets a little dry, and I understand that the characters are probably out of character. I tried to keep them similiar to thier in game personalities, but I ask you to let it slide a bit. If it wasn't already obvious, then yes I find all the women in Mortal Kombat to be incredibly sexy, even Mileena. Not just for thier looks mind you, I find Jade's intelligent and sassy personality to be very attractive. Expect more from Rain. I think he's a cool character that hasn't been given enough development, so I plan to work a lot with him. I know that the story dosen't macth the movies I mentioned exactly, I'm using the theme more as a basis. Please review and leave any suggestions you may like to see and I'll do my best to work with it. Ermac owns. BTW, expect Eric to continue getting into trouble.<br>_


	2. Chapter 2

_Second chapter of Lui Kang's hell. Mileena will be introduced, Rain will be even more of a douche bag, the girls are still sexy, Eric is in for one hell of a time, and other characters will appear to aid Lui Kang or Ermac/Jerrod in the future. Enjoy and review please. BTW, all characters are in their 2011 costumes until described otherwise.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Lui Kang was making his way up the stairs towards his room. Needless to say he was not interested in talking to anyone right now, least of all Jerrod. What could he say? He had attacked him thinking he was Ermac, and created pool in the bathroom. A pool of poo, that was the kicker. He just needed some time to be away from that jackass Rain's condescending attitude and Kitana's painfully obvious embarrassment.<p>

"Lui, are you alright?" He heard a sweet voice behind him.

He turned and saw Kitana chasing after him up the stairs. She was wearing different clothes. Her top hugged her upper body tightly, but had a large oval shaped opening in the front, allowing him to greatly appreciate her perfect chest. It covered her back, unlike her normal attire, and was joined by thin lines of material to what could be called little more modest than a thong, though her backside was hidden from him, unfortunately. Her belly was revealed all the way down towards it. Finally, she wore extremely long boots that ended in stiletto heels, and had mesh lining the top by her thighs, which was new. She also wore her mask, which he just dismissed.

"A little better now that your here." He said going down a few steps to be by her. He could tell she was smiling under her mask, but the extent to which the masked stretched out seemed odd.

"I don't suppose you have any idea as to how I can make this up to your father?"

She put her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him close. It was unexpected of her, but what sane man could complain? She brought her mouth close to his ear and began to say something.

"I think," She began in an oddly seductive tone, though he was paying her full attention now.

"That you should hold out on the spicy food before you shit yourself monk!" Her voice had turned more raspy now. Lui brought his head back to scold her when he noticed her eyes. They were catlike, orange with thin pupils.

"Oh no."

Mileena tore the mask apart with her razor sharp teeth. Then she pulled his head mere centimeters from hers.

"Whats wrong? Don't you want a kiss?" She said before cackling and began pulling his head forward again.

"Uh, no, no wait," He was frantically trying to break away from her surprisingly strong grip. He was tempted to strike her to get away, but that wouldn't sit well with Jerrod, not to mention it would probably give Mileena cause to disembowel him. In his effort to push away, he didn't realize that his hands were running all over her barely covered body, which just seemed to make her laugh more.

"Ooohh, dirty boy! I can have a lot of fun with you. I've got all of Kitana's parts, and I'll be real careful with my teeth." She said this in a disturbingly mischievous way, and he had no doubt that she was also one hundred percent serious. He was about to scream for help to fight off this girl who was half his size when something else caught her attention. Or rather, someone.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs was the guard Lui had passed on the way into the palace, the one who was checking out Kitana. He was staring slack jawed at the two of them, probably assuming the worst. Mileena then pushed Lui away, nearly throwing him to the ground. Her undivided attention was now focused on the sentry.

"What the hell are you looking at Eric?" She then conjured up her iconic twin sais from pink puffs of smoke.

"I think we should play a game. How about tag!" Eric didn't get a chance to refuse, because Mileena had already made it down the stairs. Eric went sprinting in the direction he had come from, and Mileena disappeared after him. Once again, Lui was alone. This time he ran up the stairs towards Kitana's room, hoping to avoid anymore mishaps. He opened the door, entered, slammed it shut, and leaned against it for support. He was extremely thankful that Kitana wasn't here yet, because he looked down to find a surprise. It seems that having a half naked, near perfect twin of the woman he loved coming close to sexually assaulting him gave him a raging hard on. What a day to wear silk pants.

"What the hell is wrong with me? I need spend less weekends with Johnny Cage."He said aloud as he thought of the womanizing went into the bathroom and ran a cold bath to relax, his nerves and his member both. While slaying in the bath he found himself staring at the toilet as if it was his arch enemy. He pushed his insane thoughts aside and enjoyed the bath.

"Lui, are you in here?" He heard a voice that sounded like Kitana. She stepped into the bathroom, now wearing the clothes that she came with him to Edenia in. That didn't ease his paranoia.

"Mileena, if that is you then please just leave me alone." He said in both a harsh and fearful tone.

"Mileena? What are you talking about? It's me, Kitana."

He made a pulling gesture by his mouth, meaning he wanted her to remove hers.

She sighed and removed her mask, revealing the full red lips that did indeed belong to Kitana. Lui Kang relaxed and secretly scolded himself for not being able to tell his girlfriend form her sister, twin or not.

"Sorry about that, but your sister was all over me in the stairwell, pretending to be you."

"And I'm sure you weren't at all having any fun right?" She said sarcastically as she leaned down and pointed towards his little soldier, who wasn't at ease yet.

Next time I use bubbles, he thought too himself as he crossed his legs self consciously.

She laughed at his discomfort. He then scooped up a heavy handful of water and threw it at her. She managed to dodge say that her face was safe, but her long hair trailed behind her and got soaked. She counter attacked by placing one of her closed fans and used it as an oar to create a bathtub sized tidal wave that drenched Lui Kang's originally dry torso and face and face. He parted his black hair from his eyes to see her grinning almost as broadly as Mileena. He decided to kick things up a notch.

"Get over here!" He shouted in mock rage( some where in the Netherealm, Scorpion got the strangest feeling that he needed to consult a lawyer about something) and he grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Don't you dare!" Was all she could say as she tried in vain to grab onto something to save herself. A grand splash sent water flying out of the tub that was big enough for two people to lay comfortably.

Lui was giigling like a little school girl, until she reappeared above the water. She slapped her hair back like a whip, and the fire that had been in her eyes this morning was burning again, though this time it intimidated him more than turned him on.

"Your hair looks beautiful when its messy." He said hoping to defuse the situation. Her response was to grab him by the back of his neck and pull him close rather forcefully.

"You will learn respect." She said before kissing him passionately. Without breaking the kiss she straddled him so that she was slightly taller than he. It was clear that she was going to be the dominate one tonight. The boner he had tried so hard to get rid of earlier came back in full force.

* * *

><p>" I don't like him." The multiplied voice of Ermac spoke Jerrod's thought. He was walking through the only just cleaned hallway that was nearly flooded with some ungodly creation that had been produced by his daughter's boyfriend. Jade was walking next two him.<p>

"My king, if I may be so bold," She started.

"Please Jade, spare me the formalities. Your family has been loyal to mine for countless years, and you know your like a daughter to me." He placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Please, speak your mind."

Jade couldn't help but smile. Despite being stuck in the body of one of the most powerful warriors that she had ever fought, the fatherly affection that Jerrod exuded was undeniable.

"All right then my-Jerrod. As I was saying, I think you are writing Lui off too soon. I realize that, what he did in the bathroom was horrendous, but he has many redeeming qualities."

"Oh really?" What might those be?" He asked.

Jade frowned a little at his disrespectful tone.

"Well, he is very polite and well mannered. And despite his little accident, he is a very clean man."

Jerrod rolled Ermac's eyes, though it was unnoticeable due to their constant green glow.

"He grew up in a Shaolin monastery where he has practiced kombat extensively." This caused Jerrod to turn Ermac's head towards her ever so slightly, but Jade easily caught the motion and knew he was interested.

Time to go in for the kill, she thought to herself.

"I'm sure you already know that he is the reigning champion Mortal Kombat, defeating Shang Tsung in the tournament that would have decided the fate of Earthrealm."

"He is also the one who defeated Shao Kahn in the arena, yes?"

"Correct. Because of him myself and Kitana were able to escape from Kahn's servitude. He was also instrumental in destroying Kahn when he invaded Earthrealm."

She turned to him and stated this boldly.

"And that is what made it possible for you to take control of Ermac's body." She said and placed her hand on her hip, as if daring him to disagree.

He stood tall for a second, and she could tell that he was caught off guard by her boldness. Then he lowered his shoulders and head slightly whilst sighing.

"Perhaps, I do owe him to see more than what just a first impression can show. He is staying with Kitana, correct?" Jade nodded.

"I think I'll go speak to him. Come." He gestured for Jade to follow him.

They went up the stairs towards the door of Kitana's room.

"Do you think he's right for Kitana?" His question surprised her.

"I do, but I sense you have reservations."

"I've been out of Kitana's life for so long. She didn't even know I was her father, and when my dear Sindel committed suicide, Kitana was left to grow up with that monster."

Despite Ermac's face wrappings, his sorrowful and guilty look was properly conveyed.

"I just want to do right by her, and make sure she isn't hurt anymore."

This time Jade touched his shoulder reassuringly.

"Kitana is a strong woman. She carries everything she has done in the name of Shao Kahn with a heavy heart, but she doesn't resent you for it in the slightest."

Jerrod nodded and grabbed the door handle to Kitana's room.

"And don't worry about Lui Kang. He is very respectful of women." The words had barely left her lips when Jerrod opened the door to reveal every father's worst nightmare.

Kitana's bed was king sized, and they appeared to be making full use of the space. Lui Kang was flat on his back, and Kitana was riding him furiously. Whats worse is that Lui had a fondness for talking during intercourse.

"Aw yeah baby! Ride me faster, faster!" He roared in pure ecstasy.

"Fuck yeah, do you like it when I finish you?" Apparently Kitana enjoyed dirty talk to. This almost made Jerrod pass out.

"Hell yeah! Uh, I'm coming, uh,uh,ooohh fuck-GAH WHAT THE FUCK!" He screamed when he finally caught sight of Jerrod, who had now crushed the solid metal door knob in Ermac's hand.

"Oh crap, dad!" Kitana screamed as she frantically tried to cover herself up.

To Jade, Kitana, and especially Jerrod's horror, Lui Kang stood up off the bed without remembering to cover up.

"Jerrod, I can explain. You see first I was with Mileena," Ermac's eyes flared a blinding green and green energy began forming around his hands.

"No no no, not like that. You see she pretended to be Kitana and tried to," Some covers from the bed were levitated in front of his lower half.

"Just, don't tell me." With that he stepped out of the doorway and telekinesis to slam the door shut behind him. He stood outside the door for a few moments before looking at Jade. For the first time in her life, she was speechless. He turned away and walked back down the stairs without a word.

Jade raised her fist to the door two knock, but decided against. She had seen plenty of Lui Kang and Kitana for one afternoon.

* * *

><p><em>Hope that was entertaining. Sorry if anyone was offended by the smut, but I think stuff like that really does make any story more interesting, whether it is meaningful or not. Besides, I think that was pretty tame compared to what some other authors have written, not that I disapprove lol. Anyway please review and leave suggestions if you have any. <em>


	3. Chapter 3

_Here is chapter three for you. Liu Kang has to really clean up his act. I don't know how long this story will go on for, because I'm also writing a Mass Effect story that I know for certain will extend past at least ten chapters. I also have ideas for Star Wars and Dragon Age that I would like to get rolling on. Any one who reads this please leave a review. Shao-Archon and Jack Naiper, since you are my only to reviewers for this story so far, this for you._

* * *

><p>Liu didn't sleep well that night, and it wasn't just because his little fiasco with Kitana had roughed the bed up something fierce. He had stayed up for most of the night just laying next to her in her bed trying to think of ways to get on Jerrod's good side. It was hard enough that he was stuck in the body of a warrior that had broken all of his ribs on his left side during their first fight.<p>

_Maybe I should ask him about the history of Edenia? _He passed on that, since he would always fall asleep during history class at the Shaolin temple, and that probably wouldn't impress Jerrod.

_How about I take him to see a movie? I bet Johnny could get me tickets to his new film, Dragon Fist 3: Foot of the Dragon. _He decided against that as well, he didn't want to subject Jerrod to the actors incessant ramblings about himself.

Sighing, he decided to take a walk. He carefully slid out of bed so as not to wake Kitana and made his way to the door which now had no door knob. Better it than me. He peeked out just his head first, and checked all directions. It wasn't so much to check to see if anyone was watching, but more to make sure Mileena wasn't hiding around the corner. The coast was all clear and he made his way out. His first mistake was not making sure he remembered where the exit was. Within mere minutes, he was lost. The Palace was oddly quiet at night, and he seemed to be the only one wandering the halls. He wasn't afraid to admit it, this was getting goddamn scary! Thankfully he caught a break, or rather, a scent. It seems that his last drop off in the washroom still had a lingering odor. It was faint, but there was no mistaking the scent of master Chow's deep fried spicy spring rolls. The senile old man used a very generous amount of his secret ingredient, whatever it was. From the bathroom he was able to retrace his steps to the exit. He passed through the large wooden doors and strolled through the garden. It was still just as dead out here as inside the castle, but the claustrophobic effect the walls had on someone who is lost is absent out here.

Edenian nights were truly amazing. Earth was so polluted that even remote areas were marred by it. He never noticed it, believing that living in the remote jungles of China had exposed him to clean living. He now saw just how wrong he was. The air was so crisp that he almost coughed at how clean it was, feeling like ice filling his lungs. The sky was filled with stars, and he soon was in a trance like state as he walked aimlessly through the palace grounds. He was drawn back to his senses when he slipped in something. He rolled onto his back and examined his shoe. The stuff he slipped in was dark, and putrid. He had stepped on the edge of a pile of this stuff.

A very large pile. He looked around and noticed something very unnerving: bones were everywhere.

He heard a growling sound behind him and he turned slowly. What he saw was either a freakishly large tiger, or a small elephant without the trunk or ears. Two eyes with catlike slits stared right at him, then another paired appeared. There weren't two of these creatures, but one with two heads. Both heads looked hungry.

"Nice kitty." He said as he got up slowly. As if the two headed tiger was insulted by being called kitty, it let out a guttural roar that drove Liu into a flat out sprint away. The creature gave chase.

"Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me," He kept repeating this because it summed this situation up perfectly. It didn't matter how fast he was running because the creature was gaining ground quickly. He attempted a sharp turn hoping it would run right past him, but the catlike creature was much more agile than it looked. He felt it's machete sized claws just miss his back but shred the back of his pants. Now he had to hold them up because if he got tangled around his legs and fell he was done for. He was running out of steam, but the creature showed no signs of fatigue. He was chased too far away from the entrance for him to make it back before the creature was upon him. He saw one way out, up. With the last of his adrenaline he ran towards a tall tree, jumped, and planted his feet one by one on the bark to propel himself upwards. He got to the tallest part of the tree and looked down. The two-headed creature tried to climb the tree, but its size made it hard, and the creature finally seemed to tire out. Liu let out a relieved sigh and decided to climb down when the creature got bored and left. Only then did the creature lay down at the base of the tree and both of its heads stared at him. He could have sworn the catlike heads were smiling at him. Liu then did his best to make himself comfortable. He was sleeping outside tonight. He at least got to admire the beautiful night. Then storm clouds rolled in out of nowhere and rain started to fall on him. The creature below was shielded by the branches and leaves of the tree. Liu wasn't so lucky. Too exhausted to complain he fell into an uncomfortable sleep. He didn't even notice the cloud was centered over the tree only. From his room window, Rain smiled a sadistic grin as he increased the downpour from the cloud before he went back to sleep.

* * *

><p>Eric awoke with a groggy expression. It was his turn to make the morning rounds before the majority of the people in the palace woke up. He hadn't gotten as much sleep as he'd wanted. After having her fun with the monk, Mileena had chased him around the palace twice. By that time he had missed his nap and had to get on his night shift.<p>

"That woman is insane, but she isn't bad looking." He smirked under his helmet at the thought of him becoming attracted to a woman who probably would kill him when she was bored.

He made his rounds starting with the barracks. Aside from a few of the lighter sleepers, the guards were still asleep. He then passed by the main entrance and made sure the gate was still locked. His partner had chewed him out more than once for leaving it unlocked at night. His next stop on his usual routine was the stables for the palace horses and dogs. On his way there he noticed something odd. At the top of the tallest tree in the garden was princess Kitana's boyfriend Liu Kang.

"Ah, master Liu Kang? Are you all right sir?"

Liu woke up from his tree branch, soaking wet, cramped up, and trousers still torn. He looked down to see the young guard who had been caught staring at Kitana's breasts, and had unwittingly saved him from Mileena at his own expense.

"No, I'm not alr," He stopped when the huge tiger like creature began advancing on the guard from behind.

"Look out behind you!" He screamed, but it was already too late. The creature was nearly upon him.

Eric turned and was startled by the massive creature before him. It reared up on its hind legs and looked like it was about to crush him. He dug his fingers into the creatures belly and began to scratch.

Liu was awe struck. The creature doubled over onto its back and began, purring? He cautiously made his way down the tree. The creature was on his back with his legs in the air looking like a grossly over sized house cat.

"What did you do to it?"

"What, Garfield? He's a big pussy cat. He likes to play rough with people, but he is really as gentle as a mouse. Uh, why were you out here sir?"

Liu was to embarrassed by his cowardice to reveal that to Eric.

"Er, I was training, yeah. That's it, training." To his relief, Eric just shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you require an escort anywhere sir?"

"No thank you." And with that he took his leave, still holding up his pants because the belt was slashed.

He had hoped to to avoid anyone on his way back in, but nothing had gone his way since coming here.

"Liu? Sweetie what happened to you?" Sindel was all the way down the hall from him, but her voice was like it was next to him. She flew over to him and stared at him, wide eyed.

"Just looking around." Well, he was at first.

"You look like you were wrestling with a tiger. Just look at your pants! And you look exhausted. Come on, I'll find you some new clothes and then you'll join us for breakfast." Before he could protest, she had grabbed a hold of him and he was flying down the halls. She had let him wash up and given him some servant clothes. They weren't pretty, but they were comfortable and warm. He had the chills from the torrential rain that poured on him last night.

"Perfect fit. Come on, I think everyone should be in the dining hall now." Sindel's motherly attitude was kind of overwhelming, but he couldn't deny the feeling he got from her care. Raiden knows his own mother was a more hands on woman. Hands on the back of his head, that is. He followed her to the dining hall. The fact that they were walking meant that she probably wanted to talk to him.

"So, how are you doing Liu? I hope Earthrealm is getting back together okay. How's Kitana?" Her words were laced with a hidden question she was trying to avoid.

"Jerrod hates me, doesn't he?" The question caught her off guard.

"He doesn't hate you. He's just not, impressed so far." The attempt at softening the blow only succeeded in making it cut deeper.

"I haven't exactly gotten a chance to woo him have? Especially not after flooding the bathroom."

"And after he caught you boning Kitana." Sindel added.

Liu felt himself blushing all over, both at her mention of the act, and her use of the term boning.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. Its not like I don't expect you to get freaky with your girlfriend."

Now he was almost as red as his headband.

"I don't care about what you and Kitana do together. What I care about is that you both love each other. Jerrod, however, he is very adamant about people respecting his position as the patriarch of this family, and as a father. Like Rain, when he was supposed to marry Kitana, he asked for Jerrod's permission."

"Did he give it?" He almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"He never got the chance, he was killed by Shao Kahn soon after."

Liu hated himself for this, but he was a little relieved that Rain was never given permission to marry Kitana, even if it was only because Jerrod died.

"What do you think I should do?" He asked.

"Be patient with him, and he'll be patient with you. And take the initiative to try and get to know him. Jerrod won't admit it, but being stuck in Ermac's body really does bother him. But come, lets eat."

They had arrived in the dining hall to a large table covered in delectable looking food and drink. Everyone else was already there. Liu went to sit between Kitana and Jade. Mileena sat between Jade and Rain, and Jerrod in Ermac's body sat between Rain and Sindel. There was an uncomfortable silence at first, but Mileena broke it into a million pieces.

"Its about time you got here, I'm friggin starving!"

"Mileena, show some manners." Jerrod said softly but firmly. She just leaned back and crossed her arms.

"What happened to your clothes?" Jade asked him.

Sindel saved him from having to explain why he was in servant's clothes.

"Everyone is here, so lets eat." They all began digging in to the food. Except for Jerrod.

"Jerrod, your not eating?" He said before he realized two things. First, he was talking with his mouth full. Second, it was a stupid question. He saw Kitana stop dead in her tracks trying to reach for a sausage.

"No, I'm not," He started off somewhat aggressively, but Sindel gave him a look that would freeze water faster than Sub Zero's touch. He cleared his throat.

"Thank you for your concern Liu Kang, but I prefer eating in private, given, this situation." He waved a hand over his face to gesture to what he meant.

Uncomfortable silence fell once more. And once again, Mileena broke it, though this time into billions of pieces.

"So Kitana, was Liu good in bed last night? I heard you all the way in the northern compound."

Kitana was slack jawed and Liu almost fainted. Jerrod's eyes flared brighter.

"Mileena, that is personal, and hardly appropriate when people are trying to eat." Jade scolded her.

"I'll say." Rain added. Jade was ninety percent sure that he was jealous of Liu getting it in with Kitana.

Mileena grinned widely, baring her teeth. Kitana knew she wasn't going to like this

"Liu, have you gotten her pregnant yet?" Utter chaos ensued after that.

Liu began choking on his eggs, Jade spat out her milk, Rain involuntarily caused everyone's drinks and soup to burst out of their cups and bowls, Jerrod's shock made him accidentally lift the table five feet in the air, and Sindel gasped so loudly that everyone had to cover their ears.( Somewhere in the Chaosrealm, Havik grinned manically at the chaotic event.) Kitana recovered first from her ears ringing.

"Damn it Mileena, that is not something you just bring up like that! Besides, we haven't really been trying."

Liu Kang looked like he was trying to say something, but Jade realized that he was about to keel over from a lack of oxygen. She hit him across his back to make him cough up his food. He barely took a breath before he started talking.

"What she means is that we've been taking things slow."

"Not that slow, if yesterday was any indication." Mileena replied.

"Mileena! That is quite enough!" Ermac's voices boomed.

"Yes, I just finished eating." Rain said rudely.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" Liu asked with a confrontational voice.

"What does it sound like monk?" Rain retorted back.

"What it sounds like prince, er general, er god, dammit, **demi **god.(Boo yeah, he thought to himself) It sounds like your looking for a fight." He finished his awkward challenge by standing up from his seat.

"More like I'm looking to throw some worthless mortal who doesn't know his place back to the pathetic temple he came from!" Rain was now standing as well, though now with lightning gathering in his left hand, and a ball of water in his right.

"Oh hell no!" Liu Kang's fist were now encircled with fire.

"Liu please sit down!" Kitana pleaded.

"Your both acting foolish!" Jade stated.

"Fight, fight, fight!" Mileena encouraged.

That was the last straw. A whip of water slashed the table in half as Liu Kang dodged it to send two fire balls at Rain. The first one singed his hair and the second was doused by a ball of water. His response was to send a lightning strike at Liu. What no one at the table realized was that all the drinks and pitchers of water had spilled and created a very shallow puddle that everyone was standing in. The lightning hit, and everyone, including Rain, was shocked. They all needed to take a minute to collect themselves. Sindel's hair now made her look like the bride of Frankenstein. Mileena was giggling from the brief but extreme adrenaline rush the lightning gave her. Jade was twitching from the residual muscle spasms. Kitana was still trying to brake up the fight. Rain was mostly unaffected by the shock, but Liu Kang seems to have pissed himself and hasn't realized it yet.

"Guys, please stop!" Kitana sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"Thats it!" Jerrod said through Ermac's enraged voice. Green energy gathered at his hands.

"Get over here!" He roared as he grabbed the two warriors and lift them towards him.(Meanwhile in the Netherealm. Scorpion beheaded an oni when something caught his attention. "I feel a disturbance, in my media contract!)

Liu and Rain were carried like small, misbehaved children by Ermac's powers.

"Both of you will cease this idiocy, or so help me I'll," He didn't finish when he realized they were looking down. In fact, everyone present, including some servants and guards who had rushed in after hearing the commotion were looking down. He finally took the hint and looked down himself. The sight horrified him. It seems that spending thousands of years as a disembodied soul did nothing for self control, because the electrical shock had given him an erection. And apparently, Ermac was spared no expense in that regard when he was created.

"Son of a Bitch!" He said, now dropping Liu Kang and Rain flat on their asses. He began making his way to the hallway when he plowed into Eric who was passing by.

"Beg your pardon my, my, my god!" He said to the the king's man. Jerrod now used Ermac's levitation to make a speedy get away.

Eric observed the state of emergency before him.

"What I miss?" He asked to no one in particular.

Silence loomed for about ten seconds before, once again, Mileena broke it. This time into a trillion pieces.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha." She would go on long after everyone had left.

* * *

><p><em>I wasn't to pleased with this chapter, but I'll leave the final verdict to the readers. Jack Naiper, I hope that was enough Mileena for you, and I'll put her in even more in future chapters.<em>


	4. Chapter 4

_What a disaster breakfast was eh? Now Jerrod has been brought down off his high horse a little, can Liu Kang get through to him? Probably not, but that damn well isn't going to stop him from trying. I know that my updates have been growing fewer and farther in between and I apologize. School is a pain in the ass, home is a pain in the ass, and trying to get a job is a prison quality pain in the ass. I think I'm going to try and finish up this story and my Mass Effect story before moving on to other franchises. But if I grow impatient, and I do easily, I might just go ahead with it anyway._

* * *

><p>Mileena skipped through the halls of the palace lost in her childish thoughts. She still had something of a high going after the electrical shock that she, and everyone else at the table, received as a result of Rain's foolish lack of an understanding of his own two elements.<p>

"Those two idiots will probably kill each other if one so much as sneezes in the other's direction." She said to no one in particular, but a servant girl walking by stopped and unwisely addressed her.

"Did you say something milady?" The young woman asked.

Mileena stopped and turn her gaze upon the woman. The woman had what Earthrealmers would call Asian features. She also had a slim figure with modest but appreciable curves. The dress she wore wasn't pretty, but it did hug her cleavage nicely, and was split at the sides so that her lean legs showed. Mileena didn't really have a preference for male or female, but this serving girl seemed to be a diamond in the ruff among the palace hands. This gave her a deliciously entertaining idea. She took a few sexy struts towards the woman.

"Yeah, I did. What's your name?" Mileena now stood very close to her.

The woman showed more courage than most unarmed people did when conversing with Mileena.

"Alice. My name is Alice, milady."

"Hmmm, Alice." Mileena's hand ran lightly through Alice's light brown hair and resting on her cheek.

"Your much prettier than any of the other servants here. I want you to do something for me."

"Wha, wh, what would that be milady?" Alice stuttered, but she didn't know if it was from fear or the touch of Mileena's hand. Probably both.

"My sister, Kitana. Her boyfriend, Liu Kang, he isn't the best when it comes to women. I want you to try and seduce him."

Alice's eyes widened,

"Milady, I couldn't do that! He is already in a relationship with the princess, and I'm no comparison to Kitana."

"Come on, it'll be just for fun. I like to watch him get all flustered, and Kitana will be more than a little peeved with him."

"Surely princess Kitana wouldn't appreciate me,"

"Don't worry. Kitana is too much of a goody two shoes. She won't do anything to you."

"Even still, why would he be interested in me when he has Kitana?"

"He's a man. No amount of disciplined training or happy relationships will change that. His cock will run wherever it wants to, dragging him along behind it. Like an over sized dog being walked by a child. Besides, how could he resist you? I'm barely able to do it myself..." Mileena's hand slid down Alice's cheek, across her full lips, down her slender neck, and rested in the groove between her breasts.

"I, I, I ca..." Alice was cut off when Mileena wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her so close that the two women were pressed against each other, tightly.

Keeping her one arm around Alice's waist, Mileena let her other hand move from the space between her breasts to actually resting over top of her left one.

"Surely, you don't intend to disobey your princess." Mileena said softly in her ear.

Alice was at a cross roads. Try to muscle in on one princess's man, or say no to the psychotic, murderous princess.

"I will try to do as you ask, milady."

Mileena giggled in her usual childish tone, abandoning the seductive, sultry voice.

"Good! Because I didn't want to use this."

Mileena brought up the hand that had been wrapped around very close to Alice's ass and showed her the sais that had somehow appeared without her noticing.

"Cleaning the blood off these things is really boring." With that, Mileena released Alice and skipped away.

Alice stood there for another minute, feeling sick and going a little pale.

* * *

><p>Rain had stomped off angrily from the dining hall after the breakfast fiasco. Everyone practically dived out of his way. Those who didn't received a harsh brush against the shoulder. He mumbled to himself angrily.<p>

"Damn monk, thinks he can speak to me that way. I'm a goddamn prince. Hell, I'm a goddamn god! And Kitana! How could she settle for that miserable whelp when she was engaged to me? I should be with her right now, she should have my children, I should be the one bending her over and," He stopped when he was getting looks from servants who had just finished cleaning the bathrooms.

In anger, he caused the dirty toilet water in their buckets to splash all over them. This lightened his mood, but it darkened again when he came to this realization.

"That pathetic monk has to go. To a watery grave." Rain smiled to himself beneath his mask because of what he saw as an incredibly clever pun.

"I can't do it myself, unfortunately. Kitana and Jerrod won't accept me after that. Fortunately, someone who can kill him owes me a favor." The demi god chuckled to himself as he left the palace and made his way to the living forest.

* * *

><p>Liu Kang and Kitana left along with Jade to let the servants clean the dining hall. Liu Kang was urging the the women to keep up with his pace because he had lost control of his bladder when Rain's lighting struck him. Now his servant's garbs were wet with his urine. He thanked Raiden and Fujin that he been spared the humiliation of soiling himself.<p>

"Please ladies, can we leave the chit chat until after I'm not swimming in my own pants?" He pleaded.

"In case you've forgotten Liu, they aren't your pants. Those were clawed off your behind by Garfield. At the rate your going, you'll have exhausted the palace's entire supply of pants by the end of this stay. We'll need to start giving you the guards chain mail greaves." Jade said, now picking up the pace for Liu Kang's sake.

"Those would be more helpful when I feed Rain my knee." He and Jade laughed. Kitana wasn't as impressed.

"I really wish you wouldn't fight with him so much."

"Me? Don't blame me for this. He's the one who was running his mouth off whenever me and you were brought up." Liu replied back a little more harshly than he intended.

"Don't give me any attitude just because you can't swallow your pride. I swear you two were five minutes away from whipping out your dicks and comparing sizes." Kitana replied back.

"I bet you would like that wouldn't you? After those years of being engaged, you can't help but wonder what it would be like with him."

_Oh no, _Jade thought too herself.

"You've got some fucking nerve saying something like that! I've never given you shit for hanging out with that hussy Sonya Blade, or gotten mad that you had your hands all over Mileena yesterday." Kitana said while planting her hand on her tantalizing hip and tilting to the side in the universal pissed of woman pose.

"Hey, hey, don't bring Sonya into this. She's a good friend, and Johnny's girl, even if she doesn't know it. And you can't hold that thing with Mileena against me. I thought she was you!"

_Oh shit,_ Jade thought to herself.

"You know what? Go and see her, cause you aren't getting into a bed with me anytime soon. But don't worry, I'm sure you won't be able to tell the difference!" With that, she stomped off down the hall.

"What did I just do?" Liu Kang asked Jade.

"My friend, you flat out told your girlfriend that you can't tell the difference between her and her sister, and accused her of being interested in someone else. You are now in the Edenian doghouse."

"How is that different from the Earthrealm doghouse?" Liu Kanh asked dreading the answer.

"Well. for one thing, Garfield stays there." Jade smirked at the look he got when remembering the monstrous tiger-like creature.

"So, I'm screwed then?"

"Screwed like a prison bitch, for now at least. I wouldn't worry about it though, I've known Kitana long enough to her temper flares up very fast, but subsides just as quickly. She'll come around eventually. But I do know how you can make that happen quicker."

"Really? How? Roses, chocolates, a puppy?" Liu asked hopefully. Jade just chuckled.

"Try and talk to her father without making a complete fool of yourself."

Liu let out a sigh of frustration.

"I've tried, by Raiden's thunderbolts I've tried. No matter what, I can't get through to him. Rain keeps interfering, and Ermac, er, I mean Jerrod just doesn't seem comfortable whenever I talk to him." Liu finished with a slump of his shoulders.

Jade crossed her arms under her large breasts and contemplated for a few moments. Then a small smile, almost mischievous, formed from her lips.

"Then you'll just have to get him when he is comfortable."

"When is that?"

"Jerrod is supposed to be traveling to a small city in the mountains to see about getting a trade route running again."

"So?" He asked expectantly.

Jade rolled her emerald colored eyes.

"So, why not try to get to know him when he **is** comfortable?"

"Oh, yeah great idea, well actually no. Why would he be interested in me or what I think in the first place? Why should I pretend to care about something for someone who probably doesn't care about me. Maybe he just isn't worth it."

"Is Kitana worth it?"

Liu Kang choked on his breath at the question. Once again, Jade had disarmed him with her charisma. He sighed.

"When do we leave?"

Jade smiled again.

"Right now."

* * *

><p>Eric was running out of breath. He had circled the outer courtyard perhaps three times now. Thankfully he wasn't wearing his helmet today, though this peeved his partner because he was out of uniform. Still, the cumbersome helmet allowed him to take in deeper breaths of air, and improved his vision. However, his full suit of armor covering the rest of his body hindered him, and the woman running from him was beggining to leave him in the dust.<p>

"Come on Eric! I know you can run faster than that! Get the damn lead out!" Mileena yelled behind her as she effortlessly vaulted over a fence with Eric's longsword still in her hands.

Eric thought about just letting her leave with it, but if she hurt herself or somebody else with his weapon then he would be in deep trouble. Not to mention that a guard having his sword stolen was damn embarrassing. Also, Mileena wasn't going to leave him alone until she had her fun. Gathering as much energy as he could, he followed her as she ran towards the palace entrance.

* * *

><p>Jade and Liu Kang took a few minutes to gather some supplies for the trip through the mountains. After they got some packs full of food and water, and some heavier clothing, they went out to the palace entrance to make their exit. A single guard was standing near the gate. From the sound of his voice, he was the older of the two Liu Kang had seen when first arriving.<p>

"Greetings General Jade." He gave her a stoic salute. Jade chuckled at his formalities.

"Come now Bryant, this isn't boot camp, and you've been a part of the army longer than I have."

"Old habits die hard ma'am. May I ask where the two of you are going?"

"We are going to take the mountain pass to that isolated city King Jerrod left to."

"I see. Good, the weather is supposed to be erratic up there."

Jade nodded to him and with Liu Kang she moved to step through the gate. Before they could, Mileena came bolting through it and then hugged the wall in the corner. Before anyone could ask her what she was doing, she stuck her foot out just as Eric came barreling around the corner. He tripped over Mileena's outstretched foot, flew through the air, and into Jade. Both of them lay on the ground dazed and confused. Liu looked more surprised than anything, Bryant wore a look of absolute horror underneath his helmet, and Mileena could have torn her veil because of how widely she was grinning. Jade, still underneath the larger man, recovered first. She looked at the young man on top of her and noticed his face was lying very close to her ( barely covered) boobs. Then Eric recovered from the blow, looked down at the beautiful, half naked woman beneath him, and nearly fainted.

"Oh my god, a thousand pardons General Jade! Let me fix your top," He then began adjusting her top which was really little more than a bra. He was also still straddling her. Liu Kang heard Bryant make a sickened gasp.

Eric finally realized what he was doing and all the color drained from his face. He got up awkwardly and offered his hand to Jade, then took it back, then offered it again. He wasn't sure if he had touched her enough already. Too everyone's surprise, she accepted his hand and pulled herself up.

"I'm so sorry Jade, I mean General Jade. My intentions weren't like that in anyway, I not interested in you like that." Eric said with sweat forming on his brow.

Despite the annoying tussle, Jade let a thin mischievous smirk show.

"And why not exactly? Do you not find me attractive?" She said with clearly mock hurt.

Eric's pale face now turned cherry red.

"Not at all. Your are very sexy, your outfit, complexion, green eyes, legs, and," Erics eyes now began drifting towards her breasts. Bryant decided that was quite enough.

"Eric, come on we have to do that, thing." He said as he walked inside.

"What thing?" Eric replied.

"Just, Get Over Here!" Bryant said in a hushed but irritated voice. (In the Netherrealm, Scorpion was in the middle of his fiery back flip when he lost his focus and landed face first on the hard, charred ground. He got up and felt a tooth fall from his mouth. He roared in rage and pillars of fire burst from the ground and incinerated everything withing a fifteen feet radius.)

* * *

><p>Rain had been walking through the living forest for about two and a half hours now. The forest had a plethora of sights and smells, but he kept walking until he found just the right one. Melted flesh. He looked around and saw nothing but hungry trees and ferns. Perfect.<p>

"I know your here, its not like you can really go anywhere else. I have a problem, and you still owe me a favor for not ratting you out when Shao Kahn was destroyed. You'll like this, I'm sure." He waited for a reply, but none came.

"Liu Kang, you remember him? He is going out with Kitana, and trying to win over Jerrod. He has been doing rather poorly, but now I want him completely removed from the situation. Do this and were even." Rain turned and left the way he came. His reply was a long hiss.

* * *

><p><em>This wasn't that funny, I know. I wanted to things up for future chapters. Please review.<em>


	5. Chapter 5

_Rain and Mileena are out to get Liu! Mileena because she is psychotic, and Rain because he's a pompous douche bag. And we wouldn't want them any other way. The majority of this chapter will be centered around Jade and Liu travelling through the mountains. But they aren't alone._

* * *

><p>It was official, Liu was out of shape. These last few months of leisure time with Kitana after killing Kahn had adversely effected him more than he expected. He and Jade had been traveling for barely an hour, and he was absolutely spent.<p>

" I should take a vacation, I need a break, I could put off training for a little while." He mumbled to himself in an irritated, higher pitched voice.

The two of them had reached the base of the mountain pass about ten minutes ago and that was when his hardships began. At least the view was good. The mountains truly did offer a marvelous view of the scenery, and he had been behind Jade since climbing the mountain. A good view indeed.

"Come on dear Champion of Mortal Kombat! Surely this little hike isn't anything more than a warm up for you!" Jade hollered from above.

When she turned towards him, he did his best to straighten out and not look exhausted. However, he couldn't hide his waterfall of sweat and overheated red complexion despite the cool mountain air.

"Oh shove it! Arm wrestling Goro would be easier than this right now. Is there somewhere up ahead we can rest?" He asked pleadingly.

Jade giggled as she turned and looked up the winding mountain path.

"If I remember correctly, and I always do, we should reach a flatter area that is safe to rest on in about thirty minutes. That is, if you can keep up your already brisk pace." She said sarcastically.

"Just promise not to leave me if I keel over. This place gives me the creeps. I keep looking over my back like something is there." Liu said as he began his assent.

On a ledge over looking the path the ninja and monk were walking on, Reptile watched with irritation. He wasn't supposed to kill Jade, so he had to wait until they separated.

"Thisss isss going to be a long day." The Saurian said to himself as he camouflaged himself and continued to follow them.

* * *

><p><em>Thirty minutes later.<em>

Jade stepped out of the light brush that dotted the mountain side and onto a wide, flat area. An overhanging ledge protected it from the majority of the wind, and a small mountain stream ran nearby. She took of her mask and scooped a handful of the cold water into her mouth.

"Alright Liu, we can rest here for about an hour." She said, but he probably didn't hear her because he had collapsed onto the ground in an exhausted slump.

Jade rolled her green eyes and knelt next to him on her toes.

"Will you get up and help me cook the food." At the mention of food Liu Kang nearly headbutted her because he got up so fast.

"Food? You brought food?" He was liable to start foaming from the mouth any second.

"Obviously. This trip wasn't going to be a quick stroll through the park. What did you bring in your pack?"

"Blankets, my tooth brush, tooth paste, my brush," Jade raised her brow at that last one.

"What? You think I was born with gorgeous hair like this."

"Just find some wood that we can burn." Jade said before she walked back into the small forest they came from.

Liu Kang followed her at first and then broke off into a different direction to do as she asked. He didn't notice the slight ruffling of leaves from the trees above him. Reptile followed him through the trees, keeping an eye out for Jade as well. The reptilian man maneuvered effortlessly through the tree tops and then came down to ground level. Walking through the foliage was more difficult, and the monk had stopped to listen for any sounds more than once. Fortunately, Liu found a tree with bark and branches that were suitable for burning. He hurried forward and began collecting the firewood. Reptile moved to the side and took a few steps back into some thick bushes. He watched with his yellow eyes as Liu collect as much fire wood as he could carry.

_I'll devour your head monk. _Reptile said in his head as he removed his mask.

Reptile waited for Liu to turn in the other direction and he opened his mouth. With a crack of his very unique muscles, he shot his tongue out at Liu's head. As soon as his sticky tongue connected with Liu's head, the retraction would tear his head clean off. As his tongue was mere centimeters from Liu's oblivious head, the monk bent over to pick up another piece of wood. Reptile's eyes bulged when his tongue latched onto something he couldn't see, and then brought it back into his mouth. It was all he could do not to cry out when it did.

"Huh?" Liu Kang said out loud because he could have sworn he heard a soft whine. He shrugged his shoulders and took his haul back to the campsite.

Reptile, who had dived to the ground to avoid detection and to spit up the putrid substance he had injected. He hacked and gagged, spitting up the foul stuff and some of his acid both. Reluctantly, but with insatiable curiosity, he sniffed it. It was shit. He saw a wild hog' nest and guessed who it belonged to. Snarling in anger, he cloaked himself again and made his way back to the campsite.

Back at the campsite, Liu emerged from the bushes and dropped his pile in the center of the flat ground. He seemed to have arrived back before Jade. In an attempt to show his prowess at surviving, he picked up two sticks and began rubbing them together over top the remainder of the pile. All he produced was chaffed skin on his hands, but he kept at it for another ten minutes before Jade came back with her own pile.

"What are you doing?" She asked bringing her pile over to his.

"Trying to start a fire. This is how people always do it on T.V." Liu replied out of breath but still going.

"Why don't you just use one of your fireballs?"

Liu stopped mid stroke and looked up at nothing in particular. Grunting to himself, he tossed the sticks he tried to use to start a fire back into the pile, then he stood back and took several deep breaths. He moved his hands in intricate motions, fire spreading across his arms and burning brighter as he gathered his energy. A small flaming dragon began encircling him and he guided it along with his hands.

"Will you get a move on already!" Jade asked impatiently.

"Oh, sorry." He said when he realized he was getting carried away. He shot a small fireball that set the pile of dry wood ablaze.

" All that tai chi and light shows for that little fireball." Jade said through a chuckle at Liu's over dramatic actions.

Feeling his pride being attacked, Liu began the motions once more.

"I'll show you a fire ball!" He gathered as much energy as he could and launched a fire ball ten inches in diameter into the forest.

Reptile had been spying on the pair while staying invisible in the bushes. That had hidden him from them, but also didn't stop Liu Kang from shooting a large fireball at his head.

"Oh ssssshit!" The scorching blow blasted him off his feet and back into the thick bushes. With as much will as he could muster, he forced himself to stay quiet and camouflaged.

"How's that for a fire ball?" Liu asked while crossing his arms in self triumph.

"Oh yes, truly magnificent, now get the food out of the pack and lets start cooking." Jade replied half impressed.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes of Liu Kang's bad eating manners later, they laid back to digest their food.<p>

"I've always loved the mountains. It's so quiet except for the wind, like the wind is talking to you. The majesty of the rock faces, the snow capped tips, the clean air."

Liu Kang belched loud enough to cause an avalanche.

"Scratch that last one." Jade corrected herself.

Liu Kang began to eye her razorang, which was strapped to her waist. She saw this as a chance for a little fun.

"I hope your not looking for desert." She said alluding to something.

He understood it immediately and blushed all over.

"No, I, just no. I wanted to know just how good you are with that thing."

"Are you talking about this?" She held up the bladed boomerang.

"Or are you talking about,"

"The boomerang!" Liu said quickly.

Jade laughed at his discomfort and she began tossing the razorang into the air and catching it without looking, avoiding the blades.

"I could throw this across Edenia and catch blind folded." She said proudly.

"Right, I bet you couldn't catch it from more than a few yards." The monk said challengingly.

Jade felt her competitive side take over as she stood up and took aim at a smaller mountain cliff some forty yards away.

"This will be easy." She stated matter of factually as she sent the razorang spinning into the air.

* * *

><p>Reptile had moved away from the campsite and towards a cliff face about forty yards away. His face was now black from the fire ball he had been fed, and he was angry now. Using some sturdy sticks and some wire he had in his pockets, he had fashioned a crude but effective bow. He made his way to the mountain and climbed to the top easily. He saw the two warriors talking to each other, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Honestly, he really didn't care at this point. Taking a sharpened stick, he placed it in the bow and took aim. His eyes were better than most humans, and he lined up the shot with Liu Kang's chest.<p>

"Now you die, Champion of Mortal Kombat." He said sadistically as he drew back on the bow string.

Then his eyes shot to something in the air. Something spinning, turning in the air, changing course. He didn't react in time because the razorang hit him square across the jaw and sent him toppling over the edge to the ground below. Far below.

* * *

><p>The razorang reliably returned to Jade's skillful hand and she caught it perfectly. She placed it back on her hip and turned to Liu Kang. She merely crossed her arms.<p>

"Okay, okay, you can handle that thing."

"And don't you forget it. Come on, we should continue on." She lead the way as they continued on towards the mountain city.

Liu Kang stopped for a moment to listen. He could have sworn he heard a raspy, screaming noise that began getting fainter and fainter. Sort of like the how someone in old cartoons would scream when falling from extreme heights, right before they hit the ground, hard.

"The wind talks, no kidding." He shrugged and continued on with Jade.

The both of them had been traveling for near five hours, and Liu hadn't stopped complaining since the second hour.

"My feet hurt!"

"I'm tired!"

"Do you have anymore food?"

Jade ignored him, because she was quickly losing her patience with his whining.

"Are we there yet?"

Jade spun around and pointed her finger at him.

"Don't even go there!"Her tone was so commanding that she could have told Shao Kahn to sit down like he were a dog.

Liu raised his hands in surrender.

"Just asking."

"The city is just another hours journey away, but so help me if you keep complaining I'm gonna gag you with my razorang and tie you to my staff and drag you through the the dirt the rest of the way!" She gave him one last look and began walking again. Liu followed her, but at a bit of a distance this time.

An invisible Reptile had been following them through the trees for about forty minutes now. If he weren't invisible, everyone would see his cuts and bruises, burnt face, and underneath his mask he was missing several teeth from the blow he got from the boomerang. His cold reptilian blood now ran hot with rage.

"I'm the original sssssecret character goddammit! I can't be outwitted by the holder of the worsssst fatality in hisssstory and sssssome ssssecond classsss sssssecret character!" His habitual hissing had littered the ground with his acid spit and it began dissolving. He continued on after them, looking for some way to ambush Liu. He saw a large boulder perched precariously on a ledge further on in their path. Abandoning all subtlety, he hurried past them and climbed up to the boulder. He waited for them to get a little closer, then he pushed the boulder with all his considerable strength and it went rolling down the hill to crush them. Reptile smiled broadly as he waited for the boulder to crush the travelers.

* * *

><p>Liu Kang and Jade were walking in silence, for Jade was likely to hold up to her earlier statement if he so much as breathed too loudly, when they heard a rumbling sound. The two of them looked at each other, and then to the boulder that was falling down the hill. A woman's high pitched scream could just barely be heard over the rumbling and crashing sound the boulder made before it got caught on something and stopped mere feet from crushing them. Jade relaxed from her running stance and Liu Kang had stopped screaming.<p>

"That was close." Liu Kang said after clearing his throat from his less than manly scream.

"No kidding."

"Sssson of a bitch!" They heard this echo through the air but didn't see who it came from.

"Fuck thisss! I'll finissssh you myssssself!" Jade and Liu searched but they couldn't see what potty mouth was speaking.

Then they heard running footsteps. Reptile had sprinted down the hill, became visible again and jumped at Liu with his claws outstretched. It was like time had slowed down now. Reptile hovered in the air, Liu Kang and Jade completely unprepared to counter him. It would had been a killing blow, if it had landed. The four inch diameter rock that had somehow stopped the ten foot in diameter boulder gave way, and the boulder toppled over the rest of the way and rolled over Reptile as he was in the air. The boulder rolled down the hill Liu and Jade had just spent an hour walking up and took Reptile with it.

"I wonder why he was here." Jade said.

"Aw well, he's gone now. Come on, let's get this trip over with. I've got blisters."

At the bottom of the hill, Reptile had a broken arm, four broken ribs, cuts and bruises all over, a burnt face, missing teeth, bad breath and probably a ruptured artery. Also, he bit his tongue.

* * *

><p><em>Poor old Reptile. Message me if you thought him breaking the fourth wall took you out of the story and I won't do it anymore, and if you found his hissing speech annoying.<em>


	6. Chapter 6

_I've been gone for awhile, well actually a long time and I apologize. I left this story to work on my mass effect fic, and a virus prevented me from using my computer. I haven't forgotten about this story, as I hope everyone who enjoyed my previous chapters has not as well. I will be doing my best to devote more time to this. As always, review, praise me, tell me off, and leave suggestions for characters that you would like to appear in the story.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Most girls who had been raised like a princess were volatile when they didn't get their way or were insulted. They would shout and scream, maybe toss some silverware at the object of their fury with unexpected accuracy. However, even those devilish divas could be tamed when daddy put his foot down. Kitana, however, was not like most girls. She is an actual princess, not to mention a trained assassin. Anyone who tried to put their foot down with her right now was liable to have it cut off, along with any other appendages they possess. Her little fight with Lui had left her peeved to say the least.<p>

"Can't tell the difference between me and that knife toothed bitch." She mumbled to herself.

Her words surprised her. Despite Mileena's often insufferable nature, Kitana rarely spoke about her this way. She refused to admit to herself that she was insecure about her relationship, but the thought wouldn't leave her mind. Mentally sighing, she decided that she needed a distraction. The only problem was, she didn't want to be alone right now. Mileena wasn't really the company she needed right now. Her parents had left to the mountain city to establish a trade route, and Jade has taken Liu there as well. A horrifying thought about her beautiful best friend and her less than strong willed boyfriend crossed her mind. She shook her paranoia away quickly. Kitana realized that she was alone in the palace. She never pegged herself as someone who absolutely needed company, but wanted it badly right now. She went out into the courtyard to walk amongst the grounds. The sun was warm enough to be called hot, but cool breezes made it comfortable. A guttural purring sound could be heard behind her.

"Hello Garfield!" Kitana said to the large, two headed tiger like creature.

Garfield purred even louder as Kitana scratched underneath both chins. The large cat rolled onto his side and Kitana took the hint, scratching his man sized belly. Kitana noticed that Garfield had been chewing on some fabric. Upon closer inspection, she realized that they were the remains of Liu's favorite silk pants. At first she smirked at this, then her expression became gloomy again upon remembering the breakfast fiasco, then the argument, and just Liu's trouble with interacting with Jerrod at all. Still sitting on the ground, she looked up to see a shirtless man before her. He was ripped, not just toned but bulging with muscle. Sweat gave his body a moist gleam that made her want to touch him, among other things she realized shamefully. His strong looking jaw was cracked into to a slight but warm and welcoming grin, and his eyes were heavy lidded. Not from exhaustion, but from how he was enjoying the sight of her. His bass voice was delightful to hear.

"You certainly have a way with animals Kitana." Rain complimented her.

Kitana didn't reply immediately, honestly at a loss for words while still beholding Rain. She finally found her tongue when he looked at her expectantly.

"Oh um, yes I do, I mean thank you!" She was flustered. Why?

"I enjoy the company of simpler creatures. Ironically, they can show more intelligence than some people." She said, trying to sound smart for Rain. Again, why?

Rain stepped closer, and Garfield growled at him. He kept up his calm and happy demeanor, but inside it was a different story. He hated animals, but Raiden be damned if he was going to let this beast ruin his time with Kitana.

"Clearly, if Liu Kang choosing to leave you here by yourself is any indication."

Kitana's expression grew sad again. Rain smiled inwardly to himself. The two of them are having problems! Excitement and anticipation flooded his devious mind, and more than a few dirty fantasies. Feigning interest in her pain, he knelt next to her, ignoring Garfield's increasingly ferocious growling.

"Is something wrong my princess?" He asked, pretending to care.

"No Rain, I'm fine."

"Kitana, you are intelligent and cunning, but a horrible liar. Please, tell me what is wrong." He wore a venomous smile.

"Well, I had a little argument with Liu before he left with Jade, and I came out here to clear my head. I hate to admit it, but not having anyone to talk to really leaves me kinda clueless as to what to do with myself."

"I suppose you could talk to Mileena, have some sisterly bonding time, but it would be a shame to see two beautiful women covered in bruises."

The two of them shared a hearty laugh. Rain silently praised his own cunning and charm, which still worked on Kitana this moment, but was still incredibly overrated on his part.

"Of course, I would be honored to keep you company for as long as you need, if you would have me do so." Rain said standing up, offering his hand to Kitana.

Garfield growled even more. If he could speak, he would probably be telling Kitana "Stay away from this pompous douchbag!" Alas, his greater wisdom would be unheeded by Kitana, who took Rain's hand and pulled herself up to him. Both of them walked back to the palace, probably so Rain could put on a shirt. Not that he wouldn't be so vain as to walk around with it off.

* * *

><p>"There it is!" Liu Kang exclaimed excitedly.<p>

He took off at a sprint, surprising Jade because he had been complaining for the length of the trip that he was exhausted. She ran after him to make sure he didn't get into trouble. Liu Kang had outpaced her by maybe seventeen steps, and when she finally caught up to him, she found him on his knees, ecstatic.

"We finally made it to the city. It's beautiful, it's wonderful, it's, it's, it's very small?" The 'city' had only three small houses.

"What kind of a city is this?" Liu Kang asked Jade, still on his knees.

"This is just the guard's outpost. The entrance is up there."

As soon as he heard 'up there', Liu Kang knew he was in for it. He looked to where she pointed, and saw a horrifying sight. A flight of stairs, looking at least to be one hundred steps leading to another small guard checkpoint, which in turn lead to another flight of stairs that disappeared around the mountain side. Liu Kang mentally cursed Raiden, Fujin, Argus, and the rest of the Elder God pantheon.

"I'm doing this for you Kitana."

* * *

><p>Kitana was holding Rain tight against her. Her wet, and as usual scantily dressed body was pressed against him tightly. The two of them had been in town for maybe three hours when a rain storm came out of nowhere. The umbrella Rain had was very small, so small in fact that Kitana had to cling to him so tightly that he needed to wrap his arm around her to get her under the umbrella. They both laughed kindheartedly, or at least it was kindhearted on Kitana's part, at the other people who were scurrying about to find cover from the unexpected downpour. Rain took advantage of his greater height and the added distraction to steal a gaze at Kitana's breasts, which were, because of her being pressed against him, bulging to the point of of making one wonder how they stayed in her corsetbra/lingerie at all, let alone during kombat. It made the effort required to conjure up this storm worth while.

* * *

><p>"There it is!" This time Jade exclaimed this excitedly, almost with hysteria.<p>

Twenty minutes. The rest of the journey up the flights of stairs took twenty minutes, and Liu had complained more in those twenty minutes than he had for the entire trip. The whining, the pleading, the exhausted moaning! Her earlier threat of tying him to her staff and gagging him with her razor rang grew on her, but she wouldn't give in when she was so close. The large wooden door remained closed to her until a guard on the ramparts saw her.

"Open the gate for General Jade!" He shouted to someone behind the door.

The large gate opened slowly, until green energy took hold of it and forced it open faster.

"Jade!" Jerrod in Ermac's body was on the other side.

Jade embraced him in an a long awaited hug.

"It such a pleasant surprise to find you here my dear."

"You have no idea how happy I am to finally be here." Jade said to Jerrod's confusion.

"If you wanted to come so bad, why didn't you just travel with Sindel and I when we left?"

"Someone else wanted to come see you, so I brought them here."

"What are you talking about? Your the only one here."

Jade looked behind her and saw that Liu Kang was not there.

"Where is Liu?" She said going back to the stairs.

"Liu?" Jerrod questioned, and he joined her at the top of the stairs.

Jerrod looked along the stairs and only saw a man lying face down ten feet from the top. A crow circled overhead, probably thinking he was dead.

"All I see is that hobo asleep on the stairs." Jerrod told Jade, who was face palming.

"That is what is left of the man I have been dragging around." Jade said with slumped shoulders.

The whole point of this trip was to get Liu to make a good impression on Jerrod. He was off to a bad start with an already track record. Jerrod used Ermac's telekinesis to scrape Liu off the ground and stand him up at the top of the stairs. As soon as Jerrod released his hold of Liu, he immediately fell backwards. Jade moved to grab him, but Jerrod already grabbed him again with his powers.

"Need... to see Jerrod... make Kitana happy." Liu said aloud, apparently unaware of Jerrod being right in front of him.

"He looks exhausted. We should get him some food and drink before he keels over." Jerrod said to Jade.

She nodded her agreement and moved to support Liu. Although, to her surprise, Jerrod took the burden upon himself to help Liu inside, and not with his powers, but by putting Liu's arm over his shoulder to help him walk straight. She watched the two of them go, and despite the nearly unbearable trip she just shared with Liu, she couldn't help but smile at the unexpected tenderness. Then the smile faded when Jerrod turned to bring Liu through the door, and ended up slamming him into the door frame head first. Jerrod didn't seem to take notice as he pulled Liu inside, who was probably very close to being unconscious again. Jade wasn't worried about the state of Liu's cranium. She was worried about whether or not it was accident.

* * *

><p>Rain was as happy as can be. He felt like a teenager who got to spend time with a girl he liked and getting opportunities to get close to her, among other things. The two of them walked through parks, went into shops to look at things they had no interest in buying, and watched performers in the street. all thw while, Kitana had been pouring her heart out to him. He hadn't really been paying much attention though, mostly just picking all the things about her and that pathetic Earthrealm monk Liu. To his frustration, she hadn't said a word about the years that they were engaged to each other. The fact that she had lost her chance with him only to fall into the arms of a small mortal angered him greatly, and bruised his massive ego. They were inside a lavish cafe style restaurant. The ambiance was high class and intoxicating. This was a perfect opportunity to work his magic on Kitana. If only she would stop talking!<p>

"So then he tells me that he thought I was Mileena and I was like what the fuck!" She ranted on, unaware of his previously glazed over eyes lighting up again.

_There is something I can use._

"He's an idiot for saying something like that! Who could ever mistake you for Mileena?" He did once.

"Your just saying that. She is an identical, or nearly identical clone of me. If both of us wore the same outfit with masks on, everyone would be fooled." She said sadly.

"I wouldn't." Rain said sincerely in voice only.

"Really? What makes you so sure?" She leaned over the table to stare directly at him with a playful, mocking expression.

Rain leaned in as well, despite his pants growing tighter from his arousal.

"I just would not. There is something about you that, well just makes you so easily distinguishable from Mileena. And you deserve someone who realizes that."

"I just wish a guy was capable of doing that." Kitana said.

_What the hell, you can't take a hint?_ Rain thought.

"I'm sure they are. Some guys are just in positions where they can't show it. A lot of us like to act tough in front of buddies and family, but alone, some men can be hopelessly overwhelmed."

Kitana broke eye sight momentarily, looking like she was in deep thought. Then a happy grin spread across her full lips, and she looked Rain in the eye again. She then leaned in more to him.

**Cue Bruno Mars's 'Just The Way You Are'**

Rain pants tightened even more, and he leaned in mirroring Kitana. Their faces were getting closer. The light reflected slightly off of her glossy red lips, twinkling in her beautiful eyes. Her large rack hovered over the table threatening to knock over their drinks, and he could see the curve of her ass behind her. He stealthily commanded a small splash of his water to put out the candle so that her long, silky brunette hair wasn't singed. Rain closed his eyes and puckered his lips slightly, ready to taste her. He never pressed his lips to hers. Thinking he missed, he opened his eyes and saw that she was hugging him!

**Whrrrp!**

_Oh crap, don't let this happen to me! _Rain thought with horror.

"Thanks Rain, you really helped me today. Your a good friend." Kitana said, still hugging him.

It was like his balls and scrotum had been tied in a knot. Outside, several people unfortunate enough to be out there were struck by lightning powerful enough to impress Raiden.

"Listen, I need to go take care of something. I'll see you back at the palace?"

"Of course!" Rain said biting off each word.

She smiled at him and released the hug, then exited the cafe. Rain just sat there, stuck. Stuck, in the friend zone.

"Here you go sir, your blueberry tarts." A waiter said holding a plate of tarts garnished with blueberry.

Rain turned an icy gaze to the waiter. He then calmly got up and tucked in his chair. He then took the plate of desserts from the waiter and placed them on the table. He took a deep, relaxed breath, and them super kicked the poor waiter through the wall. And the wall behind it, and the one behind that, and the one behind that, and so on until the waiter ended up in the clothing store that was two buildings down. He picked up one of the tarts and imagined his testicles were as blue as the berries.

* * *

><p>Liu became fully aware of where he was when he smelt the food. After climbing those stairs, he was groggy and only half alert, but he did notice that he had a bruise on his forehead. Someone was supporting him, but it wasn't Jade. All that took back seat to his voracious hunger however. He unhooked himself from the shoulder of the person carrying him and stepped into the food hall. Warm fires were burning, suckling meats were roasting.<p>

"I see your feeling better."

"Yeah, I had to travel all this way just to come see King Jerrod and I'm exhausted. And starving."

"Well then eat something, I don't want you talking to me while your drooling like a dog."

"Talking to you? Why would I Oh!" Liu exclaimed after finally turning around to find Jerrod was the one who had been carrying him.

Jerrod rolled his eyes at this, but Ermac's constantly glowing green eyes made it unnoticeable.

"Come, lets get you something to eat." Jerrod walked over to where the roasted meats were laid out.

Liu followed him nervously, too late checking to make sure he was presentable. He joined by the place where the food was laid out. He took a plate and offered another to Jerrod, whom just looked at it once and then back at him. It took Liu a moment to realize his mistake, at which point he just put the plate back and began piling his high with food. At a table, Jerrod watched with rapt attention as this average sized man devoured enough food to feed a Shokan. Liu searched for something to clean his hands with, and almost conceded to wiping off the food on his clothes before Jerrod handed him a rag. Unbeknown st to him, Jerrod was making a mental note of all these things.

"So Liu Kang, what did you want to see me for?"

"Well, I thought this would be a good time for us to get to know each other. I mean, I am in a relationship with Kitana,"

"Yes, that much is clearly evident by your 'interactions'."

Liu felt a knot build in his throat. He knew that Jerrod was referring to the time he walked in on Kitana and himself doing the do.

"Ya, about that. I'm really sorry for not asking for your permission, especially since it was in your palace."

"Humph, it can hardly be called my palace. I've only taken up residence in it these past few months, after being freed from Shao Kahn's control."

Jerrod saw a little twinkle of hope in Liu's eye. He knew what it was for.

"As I understand it, I have you to thank for that."

"You don't need to thank me for that." Liu lied.

"Bullshit. If it wasn't for you I would still be one of thousands of souls trapped inside this body being forced to do Kahn's bidding. That gives me reason enough to respect you."

"Well thanks Jerrod. It really means a lot to hear,"

"That being said, it isn't reason enough for me to like you."

Liu was slack jawed, cut down in his moment of pride.

"Uh," He began.

"If you think it is about you sleeping with Kitana, your wrong. I'll concede to you that whatever the two of you like to do in bed is your business, and beyond what I have a right to control. But I'm not impressed by what I've seen so far. You're unsanitary, have poor table manners, and bicker too much."

Liu got angry. The first point was a one time incident, hopefully. He yielded to the second point, his own parents had been telling him that for years. The third point however, wasn't all his fault.

"With all due respect Jerrod, Rain was the one acting like an ass the entire time!"

"Don't use that tone of voice with me."

"Don't speak to me like I'm a child!"

"Then stop acting like one!" Jerrod's eyes flared slightly.

"Why do you favor Rain so much?"

"Because I think he is better for Kitana!"

Uncomfortable silence fell over both of them. The fact that they were alone in the food hall made it worse.

"You have been gone from Kitana's life for so long. She was convinced that Kahn was her real father, she forgot about you. What authority do you have to say who is bad or good for her?"

Uncomfortable silence fell again, this time at the expense of Jerrod.

"I guess I don't. That still doesn't change my opinion of you. However, Kitana does love you, and you seem to love her."

That he said 'seemed' made Liu more angry.

"So long as you don't betray her, or hurt her, or do anything that so much as makes her frown, I'll tolerate your relationship with her."

_Tolerate? You self righteous piece_ of,

"Alice!" Jerrod stood up and called to a servant girl passing through.

Liu turned to look at the girl that came walking over. She was cute. No, she was pretty. She looked Asian, had nice boobs and a fine rump, and her serving dress was split at the sides to show off the majority of her legs.

_Nice. _Is what Liu rated her on the Guys Immediate Ravishing Looks Scale meter. (GIRLS meter.)

"Alice, this is Liu Kang. He is going to be staying her until we leave. Show him to an available room."

"Yes my king. Please master Liu Kang, this way." Alice walked off nervously.

Liu followed her, sparing one last look at Jerrod before he teleported out of sight. Liu followed the pretty little servant to a room.

"So, you are Liu Kang?" Alice asked walking next to him.

"Yes, that's me. Your Alice right?"

"I am. Your are the champion of Mortal Kombat?"

"Well yeah, but I had a lot of help from my friends like Sonya and Sub Zero and Kung Lao,"

"Surely you were the most instrumental in ending Shao Kahn's tyranny. After all, you defeated the Emperor himself." She stroked his bicep, in a way that sent shivers up his spine.

"Um, I guess I did." Liu was getting flustered, but like a typical guy, he didn't shy away from it.

"I bet the Emperor practically begged for mercy in the face of such an amazing man." Her hand moved to his back, and then lower. Much lower.

"Oookay, were is that room?" He said taking a step away from Alice.

"Right here." Alice opened the door to a room with a large window overlooking the market square.

Liu stepped inside when to admire the room when he heard the door shut. He turned and saw that Alice had closed the door behind her.

"Um, thank you for showing me the room. You can go now." He said taking a step back from her.

"I am here to satisfy your every need master." Alice unbuttoned her dress seductively.

Liu took another step back and tripped onto the bed.

"That's okay, I don't really need that!"

Alice had her entire dress off, and was stark naked except for her heels. Liu couldn't help but stare. She walked to him and crawled onto the bed, and onto him!

"Let me take care of you."

Liu wanted to push her off, but no where was safe to touch her right now.

"Please Alice, you don't to serve meeee," She grabbed his crotch.

"Why are you Edenian women always trying to rape me!" He yelled as he tried to wiggle out from under Alice.

"What the hell!" Lui heard a bunch of people say.

Liu and Alice turned around to see not a crowd of people, but one person.

"Jerrod, this isn't what it looks like!" Liu pleaded before the bed he was on was lifted into the ceiling, with him still on it.

Alice had managed to dive off at the last second, and managed to sneak by Jerrod, whose fury was completely focused on Liu. Jerrod brought the bed back down to find a dusty Liu, who had left an imprint in the concrete ceiling.

"You lying little son of a bitch. After I just told you about betraying Kitana, I found you trying to shtup my handmaiden!"

"She came onto me, I didn't do anything!" Liu defended himself as he tried to get up.

Jerrod put both his hands together and charged up a telekinetic push that sent Liu crashing through the window and into the market square, which was a thirteen foot drop. He then levitated down himself. He looked around but could not see Liu Kang. Then a fire ball struck him in his back. He turned but still couldn't see anybody. Frustrated, he unleashed Ermac's telekinetic power and pulled everything that wasn't nailed down toward him. Carts, boxes, and Liu came flying towards him. Only, Liu was in a flying kick. His own effort, coupled with Jerrod pulling him forwards, made the kick exponentially more powerful. Liu caught Jerrod in the chest and sent him crashing into a fruit stand. He wasn't down for long though.

"I'm done trying to ask for your respect old man. Now I'm going to beat it out of you!" Liu said in his battle stance.

"I'm going to turn you inside out you cheating bastard. Fight!"

The both of them charged each other. They were finally spending time together.

* * *

><p>Kitana was out in the courtyard with a letter in her hand. What Rain said made sense. Liu was out of his element, and by himself. She wrote a note to Kung Lao asking him to come and stay with them so that Liu could be more comfortable, and be more easily get along with Jerrod. She was in the courtyard because she had opened a portal to send the letter through. If she remembered correctly, all she had to do was focus on who she wanted to send the letter to and the portal would send it there. She put Kung Lao in her mind, and let the letter levitate in mid air. The portal began drawing the letter in. She was focusing as hard as she could on Kung Lao, but the sun's glare in her eyes was annoying.<p>

_I should get a pair of sunglasses. Like Johnny Cage, he always had a pair of sunglasses._ Kitana thought.

The letter was then passing through the realms, to Earthrealm. To the set of Dragon Fist 3.

* * *

><p><em>Uh oh. I know this chapter wasn't as slapstick as my previous chapters, and that it got more dramatic between Liu Kang and Jerrod. I hope that doesn't disappoint any of you who regularly read, or were expecting something awesome after so much time. If you leave a review, feel free to leave a suggestion as to who you would like to be introduced in the story. We've already had an appearance from Reptile, and if you can't guess who is next, then you need to die. <em>


	7. Chapter 7

_Not much of an authors note this time. Just the usual, read and review, leave suggestions if you have any, and above all else enjoy._

* * *

><p>A middle aged man steps out onto his balcony to breathe in the crisp and cool mountain air. His children have left for school, the wife is out shopping, and he has the house to himself for the first time in ten years. He had a cup of his favorite tea steaming in his hand, and he just took the most relaxing dump he has ever had since becoming a father. This moment right now was wonderful. That is, until he saw a mixture of red and green, then just red, and then a man attached to that red, flying through the air. And then right past him, crashing into his house. Another man with bandages around his head and a green aura floated after the other man into his house moments after. Still on the balcony, he watched as the two men fought violently, destroying his house in the process. The bandaged man spun his hands in a cartwheel motion before transitioning into an upwards elbow, flipping the red clothed man head over heels and crushing the antique glass table. The man in red, with precious glass shards in his back and ass, got to his feet and took a defensive stance. When he was struck, he disappeared in flames before reappearing behind the bandaged man and hit him in his back. He placed his hands on the now kneeling bandaged man's shoulders, planted his foot in his back, and then fell backwards to launch the bandaged man into the air, then incredibly swiftly he hopped to his feet to kick the airborne one across the room. He landed with a crash, a crash that sounded like the shattering of a priceless family heirloom vase. The bandaged man struggled to get up, and the other man took advantage of this. From across the room, a span of twenty feet, he leaped into the air without even a running start with his foot outstretched. The kick almost collided, but bandages moved to the side quickly and karate man went crashing through the window, uttering a vulgar statement. Bandages jumped out after him, leaving the owner of the house alone again. With his house utterly destroyed and two valuable artifacts in pieces, the owner added his tea cup to the junk pile in anger and left to find a broom.<p>

Liu Kang hit the ground hard, but still managed to curse himself for inadvertently hurling himself out of a two story window. Worst of all, after Jerrod had put him through that table, he had a wedgie laced with glass. Despite his ass cheeks being eviscerated with every move, he rolled out of the way as Jerrod use Ermac's telekinesis to make himself drop like a sack full of hammers feet first. If Liu had not moved, Jerrod would have most definitely gored him. Now, Ermac's legs were stuck two and a half feet in the ground. For some reason, this made Liu think of a video game that he and Kung Lao had played recently. Mimicking that game, Liu quickly got to the stuck Ermac and began raining as many wild blows to the head as he could. The punches may not have been as efficient as an articulated strike, but the sheer overwhelming amount of them gave Jerrod absolutely no breathing room or recovery time. Having his head, or rather the head he inhabited being beaten to a pulp, Jerrod reached out with telekinesis for something, anything. He sensed that he had something in his grasp and hurled it with all his power at Liu, who was still beating him senseless while he couldn't move. Ermac's eyes had begun swelling shut, but he heard the unmistakable metal clang of a frying pan hitting something hard, and the punches stopped. Liu felt to the ground, barely holding onto consciousness.

_I haven't taken a hit to the head that hard since Shao Kahn's X-ray attack._ Liu thought to himself.

He laid down on the dirt, glass shards in his butt and a frying pan shaped goose egg on his head. Despite the incredible pain, he savored the respite from the fight. Sleep looked so appealing right now.

"You cheating rat." Liu heard Ermac's voices say weakly.

"For the last time Jerrod, I didn't do anything with her."

"Right, so you just always let naked women straddle you?"

"You got to give me some credit when it comes to self control on sexual matters. I mean, I'm always around nearly naked women like Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Sonya, and even Sindel and I don't get...AAAWWW!" He screamed mid sentence.

"I'm gonna shut your lying, idiotic mouth for good!" Jerrod raged through Ermac.

He was still nearly three feet in the ground, but he used his hand to focus some of his power, on Liu's testicles. He began to squeeze Liu's nuts with the energy.

"Ow, ow ow ow ow! Look, lets not be too hasty with this, oh my god! Look I didn't mean it that way I was just saying that even though your daughters and wife are incredibly sexy I..."

Jerrod used the power to twist Liu Kang's nut sack 360 degrees.

"Oh for Fujin's sake just kill me please!"

"With pleasure." Jerrod now focused some energy on Liu's neck to strangle him.

Liu was on the ground being strangled to death and having his scrotum being treated like a dog's chew toy. He prayed to the gods that his necked broke first. Then a brain piercing screech pounded into his ears, and evidently Jerrod's as well because the testicular strangulation stopped.

"Both of you idiots stop this at once!" Sindel shouted flying over to them.

"What the hell are you doing Sindel?" Jerrod said as he finally pulled himself out of the hole.

"What am I doing? What the hell are you doing strangling Liu Kang?"

"And mashing my potatoes." Liu said weakly, still lying on the ground.

"This unfaithful piece of shit was cheating on Kitana with my handmaiden Alice!"

"No he/I wasn't!" Liu and Sindel said together.

"I saw you, I saw him on his bed with Alice naked on top of him!"

"Because Mileena put her up to it!" Sindel revealed to him.

"What!" Jerrod and Liu Kang said in unison.

"I found Alice running around butt naked yelling hysterically. I took her to my room and gave her some clothes and she told me everything. She said that Mileena 'convinced' her to try and seduce poor Liu to make trouble. She also told me that you were trying to kill him so I came to find the two of you." She finished by helping Liu to his feet, for he was still clutching his bruised nuts.

Jerrod was silent, and felt very stupid and embarrassed at his reaction. Liu could see this even through Ermac's bandages, and knew he had to do the right thing.

"I told you I didn't try knock up Alice you fool!"

Sindel promptly slapped him in the back of the head. He changed his tone and demeanor.

"Sorry. What I meant to say is, I know how much Kitana means to you, but I need you to know that she means just as much to me, and that I would never betray her trust."

_Not intentionally at least._ He thought as he remembered the time that Mileena pretended to be Kitana.

"I, I think I can believe that Liu. I'm sorry that I doubted you, and that I threw you through the air, and tried to strangle you."

_Not to mention that you may have bruised any gran kids you might have in the future._

"Can we put this behind us?" Liu asked as he extended his hand to Jerrod.

Jerrod didn't take it initially, but Sindel slapped him on the head this time.

"I'd like that Liu." He said, accepting Liu's hand in a handshake.

"I'd also like to get back home and have a word with Mileena." All of Ermac's voices said darkly.

* * *

><p>The journey back to the palace went much more smoothly without Reptile's attempted murders. Liu said he was tired once and Jade gave him a look of absolute death, effectively shutting him up for the rest of the journey. Back at the palace, the front gate was guarded by the grizzled guard Bryant only.<p>

"Bryant, where is Eric?" Jade asked him.

"Welcome back General, my King and and Queen, and master Liu. I'm sorry General but I'm afraid Princess Mileena is at it again with Eric. She took his helmet this time, right off his head."

"How does she manage to do that all the time?" Jerrod asked him.

"With respect King Jerrod, Princess is Mileena is quite, um, crafty."

"Did she try to flatter, butter up, or pretty much seduce Eric?" Liu said, somewhat unaware of his bluntness.

"It is not my place to say that Mileena did or did not try to dry hump Eric and remove his pants before stealing his helmet, nor is it my place to say whether or not Mileena seems like the kind of girl who would do this to someone out shear psychotic pleasure, or infatuation." Bryant said the last part quietly.

"I will go find Mileena and deal with her." Jerrod said and he hurried off past a bowing Bryant.

Liu was pretty sure that Bryant's words, especially the last ones, put Jerrod on edge. Right now however, he didn't really care. He went off to find Kitana. Rain brushed him, hard, in the hallway but he let it go, at least for now. He found Kitana in her room, she was waiting for him it looked like. She stood up from her bed when he came in.

"Kitana/Liu I," They both spoke at once.

"I just wanted to say," They both spoke at once again.

They both opened their mouths again, but Kitana placed her hand over his to silence him.

"Liu I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I acted. I didn't realize just how hard it was for you to be here and try to get along with my father."

"And I'm sorry that I that I was being insensitive, and acting like overcompensating ass with Rain, and for flooding the bathroom, and for almost getting raped because of your sister and for beating the crap out of your father."

"What?"

"What?"

"Oh just kiss me already!" She aggressively pulled him into a passionate kiss.

They fell onto the bed and made out for five minutes. Liu surprised himself in that he kept his clothes on. He had enough of naked women for the day.

"Ahem." A servant said from the doorway.

"Princess Kitana, your guest has arrived."

"Thank you, I'll be right down." Kitana said from underneath Liu.

"Your guest?"

"I got you a surprise."

Liu just raised his eyebrow curiously and the both of them went downstairs to the front door.

"So, I was hanging out with Rain, and he gave me an idea."

Liu chose to ignore that she just said she was hanging out with Rain.

"I sent a letter to Kung Lao via portal and invited him to come stay while we're here."

"Seriously? That's great!" Liu was ecstatic at the thought of his fellow Shaolin monk staying here.

The door opened and instead of seeing Kung Lao's deadly hat, they saw a man in a suit and sunglasses giving Bryant a picture of himself.

"Now make sure you hold onto that, a picture of Johnny Cage signed by Johnny Cage is priceless!" The person was, obviously, Johnny Cage.

"Johnny?" Liu and Kitana both said together.

"Liu my man! You've put on weight since the Mortal Kombat tournament eh? Kitana, still just as lovely as ever. Can you believe that no one her has ever seen Dragon Fist 1 or 2? What are you guys doing with your lives?"

"Johnny, what are you doing here?" Liu spoke for himself and Kitana.

"Baby Blue sent a letter to the set of Dragon Fist 3. She said that you needed a buddy here because you were failing hard with Kitana's old man Jerry. Don't worry, a little touch of the Cage will loosen anybody up." He said with an absurdly white smile.

"Kitana! I hear that you have another guest coming to stay." Jerrod came around the corner to greet them.

"I guess this is h," Jerrod began.

"Look out its Ermac!" Johnny yelled.

The actor tossed his bag to Liu then front flipped over him and Kitana. He ran and then slid on his knees across the floor, underneath Jerrod's attempt at a greeting handshake, and uppercutted him straight in the crotch. A lesser man would have had his pelvis shattered from the hit. Ermac's orchestra of voices hit an octave that would make any opera singer envious, and part of the ceiling in this hallway was ripped away by green telekinesis.

_He just got a lot more than just a touch of the Cage. _Liu thought to himself.

"You just got put in the Cage!" Johnny said triumphantly.

"Johnny that is my father!" Kitana screamed while rushing to Jerrod, who sat in the fetal position with his hands cradling his balls because they had finally come back down from his throat.

"Uh, well shit." He said now that his celebration had been stopped abruptly.

"That's what I said." Liu added, being able to sympathize somewhat with Johnny.

Bryant and a servant dragged Jerrod off, for he was in no shape to stand up. This left Liu, Kitana, and Johnny alone.

"So Johnny, we've got a little problem." Kitana began.

"What? Oh yeah, sorry about that. How is Ermac your pops? You'll need to explain that one to me at dinner. How's my hair? I'm using this new gel and,"

"Johnny, I meant to send that letter to Kung Lao, I guess I just thought about you by accident when I sent it."

_Ouch. _Liu thought.

"Oh, I see." Johnny took off his sunglasses in public.

"Sorry, I, I guess I got to excited and jumped to conclusions. I mean, I canceled the screening of my movie to come here. Stupid me."

He picked up his suitcase with slumped shoulders and began making his way to the door.

"I apologize for bothering you guys. You know your like family to me. Since Jax and Sub Zero aren't the most sociable, and Sonya is so caught up playing hard to get, and Stryker is just a loser. I'm kinda lonely sometimes. Anyway, tell Jerry sorry for me, you guys take care." His head was down and he resembled a kicked puppy as he walked out the door.

Liu and Kitana both thought they heard a loud cracking sound. They thought it was their hearts.

"Oh man, Johnny wait!" Kitana began walking to the door.

"Hmm?" Said Johnny sticking his head back in the door.

"I'm sorry for being so rude, we'd love to have you stay with us."

The door nearly flew off it's hinges as Johnny came bursting in.

"No worries, it just wouldn't be a party without the Cage! Here Liu hold this for me would ya babe?" He tossed Liu his suitcase again.

"So where am I sleeping. Also, what did you think of that attack I performed on Jerry? I thought that for my movies I would be standing a small distance away from my opponent, and that as I was sliding in for the punch I would yell Get Over Here!"

* * *

><p>(In Quan Chi's hideout.)<p>

Scorpion was slowly falling asleep as he stood at the side of Quan Chi's chair, listening to the sorcerer negotiate a deal with the Oni Drahmin. Something made him wake up abruptly and he stumbled back, tripping over a tented part of the rug and falling ass first into one of the small lava streams that ran throughout the room. He screamed and squirmed to get. Without thinking, he patted down the flames on his burning buttocks only to burn his hands in the process. He started stomping away angrily past Quan Chi.

"Scorpion, where do you think you are going?" The pale sorcerer said standing up.

Scorpion spun on his heel and pimp slapped the much taller sorcerer, rendering him unconscious, dislocating his jaw, and fracturing his neck slightly from the recoil. For good measure, Scorpion approached Drahmin and drew one of his swords. He masterfully sliced the Oni's mask down the middle, and it fell off Drahmin's face into two pieces. Showing remarkable intelligence for an Oni, Drahmin ran screaming out of the building.

* * *

><p>Kitana let Liu show Johnny to his room. She went to go check on her father and found him in his study. He was sitting in a chair and looked half asleep.<p>

"Father, I just wanted to let you know that Johnny Cage will be staying here with us."

Jerrod adjusted the bag of ice the size of Goro's head that rested over his crotch.

"Wonderful." He said sarcastically.

* * *

><p><em>Edenian Princess, you got your wish. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope everyone else did to. I'll admit shamefully that I mainly introduced Johnny because I had writers block. So anyone reading, please leave a suggestion if you have it. Also, I don't hate Stryker, though I find many people do bag on him. He is not my favorite character by any means at all, but I think they're definitely more useless or pointless characters. (Kobra) Finally, if any of you are wondering whether or not Scorpion will join the cast, I'm not sure. If he does, Sub Zero needs to come with so that's definitely awhile away, though I would love to include my two favorite characters in this.<em>


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry for the long wait again, but life doesn't slow down so I can write. I hope I don't lose any of my very much loved readers in between chapters; your opinions keep this story going. I write for your enjoyment. So we left off with Johnny Cage joining the cast and possibly ruining Jerrod/Ermac's chances of having anymore kids. Let's pick up from there. Fair warning, the romance aspect will come into play a little more for this chapter at least._

* * *

><p>Liu and Kitana sat together at the foot of a clear, flowing stream just past the palace gardens. It was the middle of the afternoon and the slightest of breezes moved through the trees. Liu admired how all of these beauties of nature worked together alongside the beauty next to him. The breeze made Kitana's silky black hair lift and fall without scattering about, and the shining sun reflected off her skin as she basked in the warmth. It wasn't the sex appeal that made Liu smile at her while she sat with her eyes closed. Well, not entirely. She smiled with her thoughts, eyes still closed, chest moving with slow breaths, relaxed yet aware posture.<p>

"You okay?" She asked him before her eyes even opened.

Liu had been caught staring, but it was hardly like the other times. He didn't turn away from her in embarrassment, or change his expression drastically. He kept his happy smile and focused, admiring eyes as he answered her.

"I'm great."

"Really? You look like you've got something on your mind."

"Just you."

She laughed, and it was music to his ears.

"You are really corny today, you know that?" She said turning to him.

"Does it annoy you?"

"No, it's just out of character for you, but it's nice."

"That was a backhanded compliment, but I won't ruin my corniness. I'm just enjoying being here, with you, in this beautiful place, finally being able to enjoy."

Kitana shuffled closer to him and leaned against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Liu found himself enjoying this more than expected. He loved loving Kitana in the traditional sense, but this right here was something just as precious. She was his friend, and he hers. They told each other everything, shared everything, and there wasn't any awkward feelings of taking things too far since their feelings for each other were already well known. Since there weren't any awkward feelings to worry about, that didn't deter them from moving in for a kiss.

"Ooohhh, sexy!" But Mileena did.

"How long have you been there Mileena?" Kitana asked with an irritated tone.

"After I ditched my new 'bodyguard', courtesy of father, I found you two lovecrows here. And still dressed to? Is Liu losing his touch?"

Liu ignored Mileena's verbal nutshot, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Jerrod gave you a bodyguard?"

"More like a babysitter." Kitana said through a chuckle.

"He is not a babysitter!" Mileena said angrily.

"My father told me about what she put that serving girl up to, and I insisted that she have somebody keep an eye on her." Kitana said with cruel satisfaction.

"Who's watching her?" Liu asked.

"Mistress Mileena! Mistress Mileena! Where are you Mileena?" A man's voice echoed from nearby.

"Dammit!" Mileena said before running off into the forest.

Eric came crashing through some foliage with a worried expression.

"Oh, Princess Kitana and Master Liu! I'm very sorry if I disturbed you, but have you seen Mileena anywhere?"

"No way." Liu whispered.

"Hello Eric, and we saw her run off that way." Kitana told him.

Eric gave a quick bow to them both before sprinting off after Mileena, leaving Liu and Kitana alone again. Liu gulped and felt nervous.

"So, you know about me and that servant girl?"

"Yep."

"And that your father and I nearly beat each other to a pulp?"

"Oh yeah."

"Soooo…."

Kitana completed the kiss that Mileena interrupted. Liu was confused to say the least.

"Sooooo…." Liu said again.

"So, I think it's really sweet that you were willing to beat the crap out of my dad, despite that you were supposed to get along with him, so that you can prove that you love me."

"And Alice?"

"Yes, Alice. She's got awesome legs; I see why Mileena chose her."

Liu loved Kitana so much more at that moment, if that was possible. And the fact that Kitana liked Alice's legs was hot on so many levels.

* * *

><p>"She loves that damn monk too much!" Rain shouted as he paced back and forth in his room.<p>

The ghostly form of the elder god Argus sat in a chair, looking tired and bored.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong with here. I mean, I'm handsome, powerful, a prince to the Edenian throne, and a god!"

"A demi god." Argus said under his breath.

"Same difference! I just can't fathom why she would prefer that pathetic man over me."

"Why does it matter that much?"

"Because she's an Edenian, a princess. He is just an Earthrealm whelp. Kitana should be with someone befitting of her, like me."

"So it isn't because you were engaged for all those years by the grace of Shao Kahn, along with the chance of succeeding to the thrones of both Outworld and Edenia, only to have it all taken away by this 'pathetic Earthreal whelp'?" Argus asked with literal air quotes.

Rain's anger almost reached the breaking point, and he shot a water ball at a vase to relieve some stress.

"I was supposed to be the ruler of this realm. I was supposed to be a full god. I was supposed to have a smoking hot wife! I want all of it!"

"Rain…" Argus began.

"I WANT IT!" Rain's voice cracked from the stress, making him sound like a prepubescent child.

Argus was floored by this, merely raising an eyebrow at Rain's unflattering outburst. Rain realized this and cleared his though excessively, taking care to make his voice sound deeper than it already was.

"I won't be denied this any longer." He said.

"So I gather. Well son, I don't know what to tell you. I mean, you've exhausted every resource if you've tried to have Liu killed, tried to woo Kitana, invoked the right of Godly Entitlement, and can't find any other woman who likes you enough to.."

"Wait, the right of what?" Rain asked with a lot of interest.

* * *

><p>Liu walked through the halls of the palace to what he hoped was Johnny's room. He needed to tell somebody, and Johnny, while maybe not his first choice, was the only person who he felt comfortable with right now. Jade was too close to Kitana to tell, Sindel and Jerrod would need to find out after the fact, and Mileena and Rain were completely out of the question. A servant had told him that the actor was staying in the farthest room on the left. Liu approached the door and stopped just short of knocking. Music was playing inside. It wasn't a song he had ever heard before. Liu opened the door so that he could stick his head inside, and what a sight did he see. In front of a large mirror, wearing designer boxer shorts, black socks, his trademark sunglasses, and armed with a bottle of cream, was Johnny cage dancing in place to the beat of the song.<p>

"I'm sexy and I know it!" Johnny mimicked the lyrics.

Johnny squirted some of the cream into his hand and rubbed it on his arms and chest, giving it a glossy sheen. He continued to dance, and flex in the mirror.

"Girl look at that body. Girl look at that body. Girl look at that body. I-I-I work out!" He continued to sing.

Johnny was enjoying his daily moisturizing session until he noticed something in his mirror.

**Whrrrp! **

Johnny turned to face Liu Kang, who was now fully in the room. They both just stared at eachother, Johnny alternating between his cream, boxers, and Liu's look.

"Am I interrupting something?" Liu asked awkwardly.

"Uh, no, no not at all!" Johnny tossed the cream someone indiscriminately and power walked into the bathroom, hopefully to get some clothes on.

Johnny returned moments later with the addition of a t-shirt, but no pants. Liu ignored it for the moment.

"Listen; there is something I need to show you."

"Okay, what is it?"

Liu reached into his pocket and produced a small black box; he presented it to Johnny and opened it to reveal a ring. A wedding ring.

"Liu, I love you man, but this is more of a commitment than I'm interested in." Johnny said.

"It isn't for you idiot! It's for Kitana. I'm going to ask her to marry me."

"Ooohhhh, that makes more sense!"

"I've been thinking about this for some time now. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I want to be a part of her family and for her to be a part of mine."

"Congratulations Liu, oh hey, I should make a movie about this! A nice romantic drama, a husband to be trying to win over the affections of his betrothed's family. I can play the handsome suitor, and Sonya as my wife to be! Oh man, just imagine Sonya in one of Kitana's outfits."

"Hey put your tongue back in your mouth lover boy, I need some advice. How do I do this? I mean, Jerrod flat out told me that he thinks Rain is a better man for Kitana than me."

"My friend, if there is one thing an overprotective father can't refuse, it is a daughter who has just been proposed to, even if it was some scummy guy he didn't like. Get on your knees before Kitana, poor your heart out to her, and Jerrod won't be able to refuse."

"Alright, I'll do it!"

"I'm so happy for you man, come here!" Johnny hugged Liu tightly.

Liu wasn't expecting this, but he returned the hug anyway. Bryant, currently on his patrol of the halls, stumbled by and saw Liu and Johnny, still in his boxers, hugging like long lost brothers.

"Yeesh."

* * *

><p>Liu sprinted through the halls to try and find Kitana. He asked all the servants and guards he came across, and he eventually found himself running around in circles. He needed to find her quickly, because god knows how long Johnny can keep a secret. He saw a flash of blue at the end of the hall. Kitana! Liu ran after her.<p>

"Kitana!" He called.

She didn't stop or turn.

"Kitana!" He tried again.

He got the same result. When he was close enough he turned her around and she looked surprised, almost jumpy. She was wearing her mask for some reason, but he didn't mind.

"Kitana," He started, getting on one knee.

"I've had months to get to know you. I've seen the amazing women underneath the cold assassin that Kahn had you pretend to be. I've witnessed your kindness, and your humor. You are a joy to everyone around you, and I love sharing every moment with you. Which is why, I want to keep to sharing them." He opened the box to reveal the ring.

Kitana gasped slightly.

"I love your beauty Kitana. I love your strength, and your humbleness. I love your laugh and wit, your intelligence. I love how you treat others. I love you. Will you marry me?"

Liu's heart was in his throat. He held his breath, hoping that she would say yes, yet worried about whether or not he was deserving of her. He was ready, or at least willing, to face any challenge needed to in order to be the husband she deserved. If she said yes, he would still be clueless on where to go next. If she said no, he wouldn't know where to begin again on life.

"Mileena!" Eric called from down the hall.

**Whrrrp!**

"Shit, you got me noticed monk!" Kitana, or rather Mileena in disguise said before running off down the hall.

"Mileena, your father insists that I be by your side at all times!" Eric said as he ran past a dumbstruck Liu after Mileena.

Liu remained on his knee, feeling a thousand pounds heavier. He took a deep calm breath.

"Fuck." He said quietly.

* * *

><p>Liu felt spent. He had gotten ready to lay his feelings out bare for Kitana, and he had mistook her for Mileena, again. He felt like some comfort food, so he headed to the dining hall. He hadn't been in here since the family breakfast. Hopefully, Rain wasn't there. His streak of bad luck continued because Rain, Jerrod, Mileena, and Kitana were all there. Liu took two steps in when all eyes fell on him. Mileena looked at him mischievously, Rain stared psychotic rage into him, Jerrod seemed somewhat unreadable, and Kitana he didn't see. That was because she had managed to close the distance in the time it took him to look at the other three and wrap her arms around him. One thing came to Liu's mind.<p>

"So, Kitana, will…"

"Yes! Yes, Yes, Yes!" Kitana practically screamed in his ear.

Liu looked over her shoulder at Mileena. She had her arms crossed over her ample breasts, and was smiling beneath her mask, he could tell. It wasn't one of her evil smiles either, it was something else, warmer. She met his gaze and merely shrugged. Liu found himself secretly thanking Mileena for delivering his words.

"There's just one thing." Liu whispered in Kitana's ears.

She let go of him and he strode confidently towards Jerrod, Ermac's glowing green eyes meeting his like lasers.

"Jerrod. I know you don't think I'm right for Kitana. I know that you may not particularly like me. I want you to know that I don't care. She loves me, and I love her. Not having your blessing won't stop me from marrying her, but I would really like to have it nonetheless."

Jerrod was silent, standing tall but obviously wounded in his pride. His eyes ran up and down Liu, he thought about him and how he has acted. Then he looked at Kitana. She looked so hopeful, but he knew that she would choose her lover over her father's wishes. She was so headstrong, like him. So proud, like him. So…..in love.

"Liu Kang, Shaolin monk of Earthrealm, current champion of Mortal Kombat. You are uncouth, disrespectful at times, and can be more annoying than I usually tolerate. You also are strong, honest, caring, and love my daughter, and she obviously loves you. You say that you will marry Kitana, regardless of whether or not I approve. I will not test that. Liu, I want you to marry my daughter." Jerrod extended his hand to Liu.

Liu didn't take it.

He instead hugged Jerrod, the most physical contact the two ever head since their fight. Ermac's eyes widened in surprise, he wouldn't expect something like this in a million years. Slowly, Ermac's arms lifted from the side, and closed around Liu, reciprocating the hug.

"There will be no marriage!" Rains shouted, ruining the touching moment.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Liu asked him.

"Indeed Rain, what is the meaning of this?" Jerrod added.

"I will not let the royalty of Edenia be corrupted by Earthrealm scum. I am Edenian, a prince, a god, and I will be the one who marries Kitana and ascends to the throne."

"You will what?" Kitana asked.

"In the presence of all of you, I invoke the right of Godly Entitlement!"

"Rain, are you serious?" Jerrod, asked, sounding worried.

"Very." Rain replied coldly.

"Earthrealmer is lost here. What is the right of Godly Entitlement?"

"All Edenians are descendant from the gods themselves. However, if one is a direct descendant, they can invoke the right of Godly Entitlement as a legitimate claim to the throne."

"And since Kitana and I are both royalty, I am entitled to marry her as well." Rain added smugly.

"Hold on a second, shouldn't we have a god to veto this or something?" Liu said.

"Getbackinthecar!"

A bright light followed by a bolt of lighting crashed into the dining hall. Materializing from it was a tall god like being.

"I shall oversee this conflict!" Bellowed Raiden.

"Lord Raiden, what are you doing here?" Kitana asked.

"Aw, Kitana. I heard Rain announce the right of Godly Entitlement to try and ruin your marriage and I came to tell Liu that there is a way he could make it void."

"He can?" Rain said.

"Yes, he can. Where is he? This is very important."

"Down here." Liu said weakly.

Raiden had teleported in lightning right on top of Liu, turning him black from the shock and crushing him beneath his weight.

"Oh, there you are!" Raiden said as he stepped off Liu.

"As I was saying, there is a way you can win this. Since you have already proposed to Kitana, Rain must win her hand from you in order to marry her."

"How?" Rain and Liu asked.

"How do you think?" Raiden asked condescendingly.

Liu and Rain both looked at each other and got into battle stances. They both shouted the same thing as they ran at each other.

"Mortal Kombat!"

"What? No!" Raiden shouted.

Liu stopped his flying kick mid jump and landed on his ass, and Rain stopped so suddenly from running that he tripped over his own feet.

"Both of you must gather five allies to assist you. We're going to have an Olympiad!"

* * *

><p><em>An Olympiad? Yes I watched American Pie Beta House, get at me. Jack Naiper, I brought Raiden in just for you, even though he didn't get much time, he will have more. I don't know how frequent these updates will be because I'm focusing more on my Mass Effect story, but I hope people will stay with me. Next chapter, several more characters come in. A hint, fire and ice. Read, Review, suggest. <em>


	9. Chapter 9

"What a jackass!" Kitana fumed.

"That petty, no good purple wearing motherfu.."

"Maybe you should calm down a bit Kitana." Liu said from his seat on the bed.

"You calm down! I'm pissed!"

She took a brush from her dresser and hurled it at the stone wall. The handle of the brush got embedded in the brick. Since Rain had challenged their marriage Kitana has been angry as hell, she hasn't stopped cursing him since. Rain invoked the right of godly entitlement two days ago. Liu was surprised at how calm he had been about the new problem. Of course, Kitana had enough anger for both of them.

"It's, it's just, I," Two days of unscheduled pmsing caught up with Kitana.

She looked tired and sat down at the edge of her bed. Liu moved next to her, and saw how emotionally exhausted she looked.

"Feeling better now?" Liu asked.

"Emptier, but not really better. It is isn't fair that Rain can put you through all this just so you can earn the right to marry me."

"I would do whatever it takes Kitana, whatever it takes." Liu reassured her.

"I know, and I love you so much for that. But you heard Raiden, you can't do this alone. Have you thought about what five people you want on your team?"

"I was considering…."

The door was kicked open suddenly.

"Liu I heard what happened man! Who else you gonna bring in, we need four more people." Johnny stated.

"Four?" Liu asked.

"Yeah aside from me you need four me people according to Raiden."

Liu looked over to Kitana, and she merely shrugged.

"Okay Johnny. You got any ideas as to who would be helpful?"

"Hmmm, now that you mention it, we should head back to Earthrealm and see if Sonya can help us."

"Are you sure you just don't want to see her?" Kitana asked.

"Listen Kitana, right now you are the only girl I have on my mind babe. I am going to make sure this wedding happens. So Liu, grab your shit, we're going back to Earthrealm." Johnny said before leaving.

"He is more enthusiastic than even you and I." Liu joked.

"Yeah, but he is really sweet for stepping up like this. But I don't think he will let you do it without him."

"I don't intend to. I'll be back in maybe two or three days, are you going to come?"

"No, I'll stay and see if I can get some other people to help."

* * *

><p>Rain walked through the red halls of the Brotherhood of Shadow's temple. For an organization with shadow in its name, there were an awful lot of fires burning, which illuminated the blood colored walls and spikes on the ceiling and pillars stretching from the ground up. But that was the norm in the Netherrealm it seemed, gory and sharp. Rain had come here seeking a fighter to be on his team for the Olympiad. Of the warriors he knew we're available from Quan Chi there is Scorpion, Noob Saibot, Drahmin, and Moloch. All four of those warriors would be very helpful to his team; all he had to do was convince Quan Chi to lend them to him. This was where things got complicated. Rain would never admit it, but the sorcerer scared him. It wasn't so much his skill at necromancy and reputably cruel personality, it was his appearance. His deathly white skin, the black makeup around his eyes, and the red tattoos, it all reminded him of this clown from when he was a child…..<p>

"No, no, get a hold of yourself. You are a grown man dammit, a grown man. That clown can do anything to me anymore." Rain said to himself.

He had finally entered into a large room, with fire burning from the rivers of lava running along the bottom of the walls. At the top of some stairs stood a tall, freakishly pale figure with his back to him. Before Rain could say something, a green skull came flying from behind him and towards the Quan Chi. Three more of the same skulls came flying from the dark corridor that Rain had just come from and into Quan Chi.

"Who enters my domain?" Quan Chi's voice boomed, still turned around.

Rain had to gulp down a knot in his throat. The sorcerer's appearance along with the little show he just put on made the hairs on Rain's neck stand up.

"I, I am Rain. Prince of Edenia, and….."

"Yeah yeah just come tell me what you are doing here." Quan Chi interrupted.

Rain was floored by the sorcerers interruption of his introduction, but he approached nonetheless. When he reached the top of the steps, Quan Chi was turned only half way towards him. He was looking into a magically conjured mirror, presumably made from the flying green skulls from earlier. Rain had to work hard not to stutter due to fear of the sorcerer's appearance.

_He's not clown! He's not clown! He's not a clown! Oh I'm going to piss my…._

"Quan Chi, I have need of your minions!" Rain said louder than expected, clearing his own head.

"Why are you shouting?" Quan Chi replied.

He finally turned all the way to face Rain, and the image of the clown he feared so much shattered. The side of Quan Chi's face, more so along the jaw line, was swollen and bruised. Rain was torn between ignoring it and asking what happened.

"So, you seek aid from me then Rain?" Quan Chi asked.

"I, um yes I do. I know you have powerful warriors under your command, and I would have them fight on my behalf so that I can marry Princess Kitana and ascend to the throne of Ednia. I want you to lend me Scorpion, Drahmin, Moloch, and Noob Saibot."

"Drahmin and Moloch left into the plains and haven't been seen since. And Noob, I don't know where he is. I vaguely remember him saying something about the Chaosrealm, but I wasn't really listening. I do still have Scorpion though."

"That is disappointing, but I'll take what I can get."

"You won't take anything yet. What are you prepared to offer me Rain? You are not a general in Shao Kahn's army anymore, so I am curious as to how you intend to compensate me."

"How about the soul of Kitana?"

"Kitana's soul? I thought you said you were marrying her."

"Despite my best efforts and natural charm, Kitana is in love with the Mortal Kombat champion, Liu Kang. Even if I do win, she'll never love me the same way. Also, I don't share power with anyone, so you can do us both a favor by having her."

"Damn, that's cold. I killed Scorpion's family and clan and lied to him about it, and I find what you are doing absolutely despicable. But we have a deal then. Scorpion, get over…."

Before Quan Chi could finish his sentence the specter appeared out of a burst of fire and got right in Quan Chi's face.

"Do. Not. Say. It." Scorpion said.

Quan Chi took a big step back from Scorpion and started a new sentence.

"Scorpion, Rain here has need of your special skills. You are to serve him as you serve me."

Quan Chi involuntarily rubbed his bruised and swollen cheek.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean we need to wait an hour? I'm a good friend of the Lieutenant!" Johnny said.<p>

"I'm sorry sir, but we are really busy and only Special Forces personnel are allowed to see officers right now." The receptionist said.

"Hey, you see this face? You know who I am? Because Lieutenant Blade will definitely remember me, we're a couple you see. So if you could just go tell her that…."

"Sir I'm very busy so unless you have a crime to report I need you to leave."

"But…"

"Johnny give it a rest, we're just wasting time here." Liu said.

Just as the two of them were about to leave, the secretary got a message and she stopped them.

"Wait, you just got clearance and you can go right on in. Someone is waiting for you in office 5."

As the two of them walked past, Johnny tilted his sunglasses to her and smiled thinly. This gesture translates roughly into 'mhmmm'.

Liu and Johnny walked through the Special Forces building until they found office 5. Upon entering, they saw a muscular person sitting in a chair with metal arms behind their head.

"Well damn, if it isn't the champ and the big time actor, I'm humbled." Jax said good heartedly.

"Major Briggs! It's been too long."

Liu shook Jax's hand, and the cold steel almost crushed his hand.

"Jackie, the arms look a little rusty." Johnny joked.

"Very funny asshole."

"What's with your receptionist? She never watches movies or something?"

"She was just doing her job Johnny. If I hadn't seen you on camera you would have left already. Why are you here by the way?"

"We came here to find Sonya Blade. A very personal matter has come up and I need trusted allies to help me." Liu explained.

"Of course I was the first person he came to; Liu couldn't get anything done without me. I suggested Sonya as another candidate."

"Well Sonya is on a classified mission, strictly need to know basis." Jax said.

"Tracking down Kano?" Liu and Johnny both guessed.

"Uh, maybe?" Jax said, though it was obvious.

"That's unfortunate, she would have been invaluable. But I have to ask Jax, can you come back to Edenia with us?" Liu asked.

"Me?" Jax asked.

"Come on Jax, are you really happy being stuck here at a desk?" Johnny asked.

Jax turned around and looked at the mountain of paperwork that he still had just for today.

"There gonna be some action?" Jax asked.

"Definitively." Liu said.

* * *

><p>"How are you doing sweety?" Sindel asked Kitana.<p>

"Well enough mom."

"I'm sorry that you are in this situation, Rain always seemed like such a nice boy."

Kitana just scoffed at her mother's obliviousness.

"I'm even more annoyed by this whole Godly Entitlement situation."

"It is an old tradition. It was rarely used." Ermac said.

"Are there any other details that I should be aware of about?" Kitana asked.

"You are forbidden to take part in it yourself, as is your mother and I. Five challenges will be given, a representative from each group will compete against each other in the challenge. Whichever team wins three out of five times wins the Olympiad and the throne…..and you."

"What do you think of this dad?" Kitana asked.

Jerrod was silent for a long moment. He thought back to what he had said to Liu about his opinion of him compared to Rain. Then he remembered what he said to Liu once he had proposed to Kitana.

"I think Liu is going to make Rain work harder than he ever has in his life, and I would expect no less."

"Liu and myself, among others." Jade said as she entered the room.

"Jade?" Kitana said.

"Did you really think I would sit this one out Kitana? I never did like Rain, and I'll be damned if he thinks he can stand in the way of the best moment of your life."

"And I'll be damned as well!" Mileena said as she teleported into the room.

"I'll admit that you boy toy said about you, well me accidentally was pretty sweet. I want my big sister to have a good wedding."

Kitana hasn't ever been the girly girl type, but the emotion was too much even for her. She felt tears start falling down her cheeks and she hugged both Jade and Mileena fiercely, surprising both the woman.

"Mistress Mileena! Where have you gotten to now?" Eric said.

He ran past the room everyone was in and hastily backpedaled when he realized his mistake. He found three half naked women being squeezed together.

"Why do I miss everything?" He said under his breath.

* * *

><p>"Son of a bitch it is cold!" Johnny yelled.<p>

"What the hell did you expect when I told you we were going to Nepal?" Liu asked.

"I don't know a bunch of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream." Johnny said.

The sad thing was that he didn't sound like he was joking.

"That's Neapolitan ice cream." Jax said.

"I don't care, why are we here of all places?" Johnny asked as he shivered uncontrollably.

"Take a wild guess Johnny. Who do we know that would live out here in this frozen wasteland?" Liu said.

"I don't care who they are, if they got a hot tub then let's just get moving!" Johnny said with irritation.

With Liu leading the way, the three of them set off in a direction with no discernable landmarks, it was just white far as the eye can see. Liu used his Shaolin discipline to ignore the cold as best he could. Jax walked with his arms stiff at his side because he had wiped his mouth earlier and his lips stuck to the metal. Johnny's pearly white teeth chattered relentlessly and small icicles had started to form on his sunglasses. Suddenly, a loud roar slightly muffled by the wind echoed into their ears.

"What was that?" Liu asked, getting in a fighting stance.

"It sounded big, and angry." Jax added.

The three of them formed a circle, trying to find what had made the sound. The snow severely limited their vision and the wind made it hard to hear. Johnny took a few steps forwards and walked into something hard. It was as white as the snow, save the teeth that were covered in a red substance.

"Holy…."

The creature roared again and swung on Johnny, smacking him away and into the snow.

"What is that!" Jax asked.

"A Yeti!" Liu yelled as he shot a fireball at the Yeti.

The flames smashed into the creature and set in ablaze, but the Yeti ignored it and charged them. Liu dived out of the way and Jax jumped onto the Yeti's back as it passed.

"Gotcha!" He said, and began pounding into the Yeti's head.

The flames had died down from the snow and wind, and the Yeti used it's long arms to reach around and grab one of Jax's legs. It pulled him off and held him upside down. The Yeto punched him once, twice, and then tossed him aside like a toy. Liu went into a flying kick as the Yeti turned to face him, but the creature showed unexpected quickness and caught him out of the air. Holding Liu by the torso, the Yeti lifted his head to it's mouth and opened wide, easily able to bite off his entire head. Liu planted by his hand on the Yeti's upped and lower jaw, straining to keep the mouth from biting down on him.

The creature was about as big as Goro, maybe bigger, and was much stronger than Liu physically. His strength was failing as the Yeti's teeth started to get closer to his head, until a green ball of energy hit the Yeti directly in the head. The creature dropped Liu to the ground and staggered back. Johnny, now recovered but with shattered glasses.

"Come you stupid Bigfoot wannabe!" Johnny yelled.

The Yeti roared in anger and charged the actor. When it was close enough, the Yeti tried to claw Johnny's head off. Johnny ducked beneath it and did a back flip kick into the Yeti's now exposed head. As the Yeti stumbled back, swinging it's head backward, Jax leapt into the air and superman punched it, knocking the Yeti onto it's knees. Dazed and confused, the Yeti looked up just in time to see Liu's foot crash into it's face, and then the other, and then the one before. Liu completed his bicycle kick and the Yeti fell onto it's back, with a bruised and bloody face.

The three men crowded around the unconscious Yeti.

"Ha, he wasn't so tough." Johnny said.

"Really, where is your glasses hotshot?" Jax asked jokingly.

"Eh, I was tired of then anyway. And I'm also tired of freezing my balls off out here!"

"Keep your pants on Johnny. Seriously, your balls might just fall of if you don't, and I have no idea how much longer we have to go." Liu said.

"Really?" Jax asked.

"Well the Lin Kuei headquarters wouldn't be a very secretive place if everyone knew how to get there."

The three of them started walking again, and none of them notice the Yeti stir.

"Wait, Lin Kuei? Oh, we're going to find Sub Zero aren't we?" Johnny said.

"Nothing gets by you Johnny….. look out!" Liu warned.

Johnny turned and saw the massive clawed hand of the Yeti swinging at his head. It was inches from his head and all he could do was close his eyes.

_So this is how it ends? I thought it would have been some bad special effects that did me in. Sonya, I'm sorry I joked around too much instead of telling…COLD!_

Johnny's eyes snapped open to find the Yeti completely frozen, and it's hand frozen to his cheek. A muscular man, wearing clothes that would make a normal person have total body frost bite and a blue face mask stepped out from behind the large creature.

"It seems I have found you three instead." Sub Zero said.

"Perfect timing Sub Zero." Jax said as he shook his hand.

"Definitely, Johnny almost lost his means of making a living." Liu joked and gestured at his own head.

"Yeah, well that means is getting frost bite fast!" Johnny said, trying to pull his face free.

Sub Zero kicked the Yeti in the side and the entire frozen creature fell apart on the ground.

"Thanks for that Subby."

"Don't thank me yet, the rest of you is still at risk of being damaged by the cold. Follow me."

* * *

><p>The Lin Kuei temple was oddly warm despite the frost forming on the windows and the stone walls that were very cool to the touch. Aside from the occasional Lin Kuei member walking through the halls, it was quiet. Johnny sat in front of a fire to warm his hands. Jax was busy using an ice pick to chip off the frozen patches of ice on his arms. Liu joined Sub Zero in his office.<p>

"So you plan on marrying Kitana? Congratulations my friend." Sub Zero said.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy coming to that decision. I had to win over here father."

"That's understandable, but surely it wasn't that bad?"

"Her father is the king of Edenia, and he is stuck in Ermac's body."

"That…..sounds complicated. But Kitana is worth it, no?"

"More than worth it. I can't imagine life without her."

"So I assume you came all the way out here to personally invite me to your wedding?"

"Er, um, yeah definitely. But there is a catch. You remember Rain? Well he invoked some Right of Godly Entitlement and has put forth a claim to the throne of Edenia, and Kitana's hand in marriage."

Sub Zero furrowed his brow and leaned forward in his chair, indicating that Liu had his complete attention.

"Thanks to Raiden, I learnt that there is a way for me to challenge Rain. He and I both must gather five people to compete in an Olympiad, and the winner, wins Kitana."

Sub Zero exhaled slowly, the mist from his cold breath flowing out from his mask.

"When do we leave?"

* * *

><p>Jerrod oversaw the people working hard in the newly reopened arena. It vaguely resembled the Earthrealm Coliseum, though smaller. It hasn't been used for hundreds of years, but was being prepared for the Olympiad. He feelings were mixed, a grand part of older Edenian society was being resurrected, but with his daughter's happiness at stakes.<p>

"It is quite grand, isn't it?" Rain said, suddenly walking up beside him.

"Indeed." Was all Jerrod replied.

"My victory will be that much greater in a place like this." Rain said vainly.

"So sure of your victory are you?"

"Come now Jerrod, do you really think the monk has any chance of winning?"

Jerrod turned to him and spoke in a trained civil tone.

"I think you would do well to prepare."

Rain didn't seem to pick up on the hidden meaning.

"I'll keep that in mind. When will the Olympiad commence?"

"Givememymoney!"

Raiden shot down from the sky in a bolt of lighting.

"The Olympiad shall commence now, once we get both teams here. Where is Rain? I thought he was just here?" Raiden asked Jerrod.

Jerrod merely pointed at Raiden's feet. A burnt Rain lay underneath Raiden's shoes.

"Oh, beg your pardon Rain. Is your team ready?"

Rain had to try very hard to remain civil and control his anger.

"Yes. Raiden. My team is ready." Rain said through clenched teeth, hidden by his mask.

"Very good, and Liu is in Earthrealm? I'll bring him here myself. Rain, Jerrod, gather with Kitana in the center of the arena."

* * *

><p>In the middle of the stage in the arena, Rain, Jerrod, Kitana, and Raiden stood together.<p>

"Alright, just let me find him, and there we go!" Raiden said.

A blast of lighting shot from Raiden's hand and split into four lances. Liu Kang, Jax, Sub Zero, and Johnny Cage appeared in their place.

"Whoa, what happened?" Johnny asked.

"I have teleported you four here so that the Olympiad can be organized…..what is that?" Raiden asked.

Johnny had a bottle in his hand. A fragrant smell came off of him, a feminine smell.

"Just what were you doing in the bathroom Johnny?" Liu asked.

"It's, I, the smell is SHUT UP!" Johnny said as he tossed the bottle away somewhere.

"What the hell is this?" Jax said when he noticed Ermac's body.

"Wait a second Jax, it's not what you think!" Liu said.

"What I think is that this is the freak that ripped off my arms!"

"I am not the same being; I am one of the souls that has taken control of this body." Jerrod said.

Jax stood in a tense, almost threatening stance.

"Please Jax, I'll explain everything after. Just please, cool it for now." Liu pleaded.

Jax looked at Liu and Jerrod and relaxed a little bit.

"You explain **everything**."

"Now that both parties are here, we must match up all the contestants." Raiden said.

"I though we needed five people, we only have three." Sub Zero stated.

"Not quite Sub Zero." Kitana said.

Up the steps onto the stage came Jade and Mileena, with Eric trailing behind.

"Hello boys." Jade said.

"Nice of you to join the party girl!" Johnny said.

"Mileena to? I've really been out of the loop." Jax said.

"Uh, greetings Mileena. Hello Jade." Sub Zero spoke to the latter somewhat shyly.

"Huh, so this is what you scrounged up Liu? I suppose it'll do." Mileena said.

"Before we introduce Rain's team, we need an audience!" Raiden shouted.

Servants around the arena opened the doors and the villagers started to file in. Within minutes, the arena was filled with eager viewers.

"Now then, Rain, bring up your team." Raiden said.

"With pleasure. Tanya, Reiko, Kano!"

Up the steps on the other side of the stage, a muscular man wearing armor resembling that of Shao Kahn's, a black woman in a yellow outfit, and a man with half a metal face stepped onto the stage. Reiko, Kano, and Tanya came and stood by Rain.

"I expect my pay soon mate." Kano whispered in Rain's ear.

"Who are your other two members of your group Rain?" Raiden asked.

Fire appeared from the ground up, and Scorpion materialized from the flames.

"Scorpion…" Sub Zero said under his breath.

The white eyes of the specter met his, and there was an unspoken fuck you between the two of them.

Following Scorpion's entrance, a hissing sound could be heard, but nothing was seen. Beside Scorpion, Reptile made himself visible. He looked no worse for wear, despite what he had gone through trying to kill Liu and Jade.

"Now that we have all our contestants, I shall use the wisdom of the gods to decide who shall compete against each other. One moment please."

* * *

><p>Raiden teleported away from the stage, to an area just outside the arena, out of sight. He removed his hat and started drawing pieces of paper from his hat. He teleported back with the match ups.<p>

* * *

><p>"The matches have been made: Johnny Cage vs Reiko, Jax vs Kano, Jade vs Tanya, Mileena vs Reptile, and Sub Zero vs Scorpion!"<p>

_What else is new?_ Raiden thought with regards to the last match up.

"Tomorrow, a randomly selected match will compete in the first challenge. Until then, prepare yourselves." Raiden said before disappearing.

* * *

><p>In the castle, Jax found Liu in the dining hall.<p>

"Alright Liu, you better get to explaining." Jax said with fold mechanical arms.

"Alright then. You know that Ermac was made up of many souls right? Well Jerrod is a soul that managed to take complete control of Ermac's body when I killed Shao Kahn."

"And you trust that thing? You do remember that Ermac almost killed you right?"

"Jax, Jerrod is Kitana's father."

Jax opened his mouth to say something, but no words were spoken. He didn't seem happy about it, but not as angry either.

"Can I count on you to not kill him?" Liu asked, half joking.

Jax let out a heavy sigh and slumped his hefty shoulders.

"Man, you are so lucky I like you and Kitana. Don't worry, I won't kill him."

"Thanks Jax, I knew you'd understand."

"Do you have a moment?" Jerrod said from the doorway.

Jax looked towards him with a neutral face, and a semi-confrontational posture. Liu shot him a look and Jax just crossed his arms.

"I was just leaving, I'll let you to get aquainted." Liu said before he left the room.

Jerrod just stared at Jax for a moment before approaching. He extended a hand to Jax, but Jax kept his arms crossed.

_How do Earthrealmers greet people like him? Aw yes._

Jerrod moved his hand upwards and titled it a little.

"What is up my nigga?" Jerrod asked.

Liu felt the round shake beneath his feet and sprinted back to the room where he left Jerrod and Jax. He almost bumped into Jax when he came walking out.

"I didn't kill him." Jax said before leaving.

Liu hurried inside and found Jerrod buried up to his waist in the stone floor.

* * *

><p><em>It's been awhile since I've written for this story, so I'm not pleased with this chapter. Yes I ripped off the joke from Rush Hour, I love it too much. If you guys have any suggestions for events, I'm listening. Leave it in a review or pm and I'll consider it.<em>


	10. Chapter 10

Eight warriors sat, stood, and leaned in the study room in the west wing of the palace. Two of them sat closely together on one of the couches, a lean yet muscular man with a red headband and an incredibly beautiful yet equally deadly woman that is clad elegantly, albeit sparingly, in blue. They both shared a grim and at the same time hopeful attitude. Another man, wearing army cargo pants and a black t-shirt that barely covered the shoulders of his robotic arms sat in a single, comfy chair with one leg crossed over the other, and he wore an expression of professional determination and discipline. Standing by the bookcase by the fireplace, another man with black slacks and a matching blazer, as well as his iconic sunglasses, twirled a pen he always had on hand for signing autographs between his fingers. His face could be read as anxious despite the glasses. In another single chair, a woman with shoulder length hair and a body and face almost identical to her 'sister' in blue, but instead she wore an outrageous pink outfit. She sat relatively still, tapping her fingers on the armrest slowly in a unified pattern as her cat like eyes picked things out from around the room, trying to end her boredom. Standing up next to her was a young man head to toe in armor that he had foolishly picked out despite it being boiling hot and almost too heavy for him to carry properly. He stood so straight and so still that he reeked of awkwardness of nerves; not the least because he had been involved inappropriately with two of the women and was charged with guarding the third. On another couch, a muscular man with a blue face mask sat somewhat laxly, but also attentively so as not to look lazy. Frost came out with his breath, and his eyes kept snapping to the side because of the person next to him. This is another woman, uniquely beautiful from the other two and wearing green clothes, sat on the armrest of the couch, balancing on it perfectly without even letting her feet touch the ground. She looked thoughtful and patient.

"So, why are we just hanging out in here?" Johnny asked after dropping his pen and deciding to leave it.

"You got somewhere else to be?" Jax asked.

"What are you talking about? I'm here for Liu and baby blue one hundred percent!" Johnny said defensively.

"Thanks Johnny." Kitana said gratefully.

"Hmm, now that I think about it, I do have a casting meeting for Dragon Fist 3 that the producers want me to attend because I don't take just anyone to be my co star. You gotta be a real deal actor or actress to work with the Ca.."

"Uh, spare us." Mileena cut in.

"Hey don't hate pinky!" Johnny said with a smile.

Mileena stopped tapping her fingers and narrowed her eyes at the actor. Johnny involuntarily gulped down a knot in his throat.

"If you call me pinky again, I'll give you a nickname; stumpy. And guess what, it won't be because I cut your pretty head off."

While she said this, she scraped one of her sais on the seat cushion between her lean, fit legs. She brought it noticeably close to her crotch to get her point across. Johnny picked up his pen and hastily went to stand next to Jax. Eric shuffled his feet a little bit after watching.

_Why did I find that so sexy? _He thought to himself.

"I assume we are waiting to hear from Raiden about which match up will compete first?" Sub Zero asked.

"You are right Sub Zero, Raiden will inform us when the first activity is ready, which should be soon." Liu told him.

"Speaking of the matches, anyone have any thoughts about who they were matched up with?" Kitana asked.

"Yeah I do actually. What's with this Reiko guy? I never heard of him." Johnny said.

"He was a high ranking general in Shao Kahn's army, just like Rain was. It's no surprise that Rain is scraping the barrel for help, especially with that bitch Tanya." Jade said, almost spitting out the last name.

"You and Tanya have some history I take it?" Sub Zero asked Jade.

"More like I want to tear out her white eyes and feed them to her." Jade said, with absolute sincerity.

"Damn, what she do to you?" Johnny asked.

He spoke for most of the people there, since no one was accustomed to hearing Jade speak about someone so angrily, and viscously.

"Tanya has betrayed Edenia on more than one occasion, and our personal trust as well." Kitana explained.

Jade clenched her fist hard and seemed like she wanted to say more, but she consoled herself.

"And Jax, about Kano. Didn't you say Sonya was on a mission to track him down?" Liu asked.

"No, I said she was on a classified mission." Jax said, still trying to enforce protocol.

"But, finding Kano here is, disconcerting." He added.

Jax wondered about Sonya. He doubted Kano could have done anything to her, and she was tough. He decided that she was fine.

* * *

><p>(In the middle of the Australian Outback)<p>

Sonya stumbled across the dry earth, crunching dead twigs and kicking up cactuses and she went. She had gotten a local to drive her out her and then she went the rest of the way on foot. She had traveled to a Black Dragon staging area to find Kano, but no one was there. As if that wasn't bad enough, she didn't have the foresight to pay the driver to wait for her. Now she was stuck out in the middle of this wasteland without any water, food, or quicker way out.

"All the intel, so much time preparing and checking sources, why wasn't he there?" She said to herself.

The heat was getting to her and dehydration was setting in. Her walk turned into a groggy drag, her blond hair stuck to her face and chest drenched in sweat, and her boots were filling with sand by the minute. Something caught her attention in the distance. She stopped and stood up straight, shielding her eyes from the sun's glare for a better look. Not too far away, just standing there with his back to her and both his arms pointed into the air was a man, stiff as stone.

"Kano!" Sonya yelled hysterically.

Ignoring her hunger and thirst and heat stroke with the sheer force of will alone, Sonya sprinted towards Kano, still not moving and standing more still than should be humanly possible. Sonya dipped back and pushed off the ground with her hands and went soaring through the air towards Kano. Her foot crashed into him and knocked him down, and Sonya fell on top of him. Sharp pain was felt all in her arms, near her face and neck, her chest and parts of her breasts, and close to her nether regions. The pain caused her to see through her mirage of Kano and realize what she had just landed on; a large cactus.

Sonya carefully pushed herself up, not wanting to even jerk the sharp cactus pins in her. To top things off, her eyes started to water and she sneezed. It felt like an allergic reaction, but she was only allergic to dogs. The realization donned on her; she was in Australia. Several deep growls came from around her. A pack of ravenous dingoes started walking in from the small slopes around her, and their hungry mouths wet the ground with drool.

* * *

><p>(Back in the study)<p>

_I'm sure she's fine._ Jax thought and he shrugged away his worry.

"What about you Sub Zero? Do you have any qualms about fighting Scorpion?" Jax asked.

"I will do everything I can to make Liu and Kitana's marriage a reality. If I must go against Scorpion to do so, then so be it."

"It's kinda weird don't you think? It's like there is something that wants you two to fight all the time, to always be bitter rivals." Johnny wondered.

* * *

><p>(At Netherrealm Studios HQ)<p>

"Mr. Boon it looks like Johnny Cage is drawing attention to us!"

"Son of a bitch, have one of the smarter characters get things back on track pronto!" Ed Boon ordered.

* * *

><p>"Stop being foolish Johnny. It doesn't matter who Sub Zero is pitted against, he'll defeat them handily regardless. Won't you Sub Zero?" Jade said.<p>

"I, of course I will, you can count on me." Sub Zero said proudly.

It was a good thing that his mask covered his cheeks, so that no one, and especially not Jade, could see him blushing.

"That just leaves you and Reptile, Mistress Mileena." Eric said.

"Yeah, I know Eric. I'm not an idiot." Mileena shot back.

"I'm surprised Reptile is back at all, Jade and I saw him get steamrolled by a boulder not too long ago." Liu revealed.

"Indeed, for someone to be so incompetent to allow that to happen to themselves surely they mustn't be too much of a challenge." Jade added confidently.

"You are too cocky." Someone said.

"What are you talking about?" Jade asked Liu.

"I didn't say anything." Liu said confusedly.

"Oh crap, I knew it! I just knew that one of the other realms would have ghosts!" Johnny said with fear, looking every which way franticly.

A deep growling sound echoed into the room. A womanly screeched followed it, and Johnny was practically on top of Jax after he screamed.

"What the hell are you doing!" Jax asked underneath Johnny.

"Hold me!" Johnny answered.

"Johnny there are no ghosts, Liu calm him down….Liu?" Kitana said.

Liu poked his head out from underneath the blanket he had pulled over his whole body when Johnny screamed ghost.

"Do what now?" Liu asked.

"What the hell is it then?" Jade asked.

Out of thin air, Reptile made himself invisible right in front of Jade, snarling in her face. Surprised, Jade yelped fell back off the armrest and right into Sub Zero hands and lap.

**Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah, hallelujah, halleluuuuuujah! **Sub Zero thought uncontrollably.

"Oh shit!" Eric exclaimed, and he tried to draw his sword from it's scabbard, but not realizing the strap holding it in place was still on.

"We were just talking about you scaly." Johnny said with regained compsure.

"Yes, I heard." Reptile shot Jade a look of disdain.

"What….aw son of a…. what are you doing in the royal palace?" Eric said, still fighting with his sword.

"Shut up grunt, my business is with Mileena, not you." Reptile said.

"We haven't had much to talk about since the, 'good old' days with Shao Kahn Reptile. And I doubt you've done anything worth while to catch up on." Mileena said somewhat venomously.

"I've been making some new friends actually, as have you. Slumming by the way it looks." Reptile said.

_Oh snap….hey wait!_ Johnny thought.

"Anyway, as you know the two of us have been pitted against each other for the Olympiad. Well, I have just learned that we are going first, and what the challenge is. You have no chance."

"Is that so?" Mileena asked.

"Absolutely. But so that we don't deny Rain his prize longer than absolutely necessary, and even so that you can avoid embarrassment and miserable failure, I've come to you with a proposition."

"And what makes you think I would take any deal you or Rain offer?" Mileena asked.

Reptile laughed a little, and it was intended to mock her.

"Because I know you well enough Mileena to call you selfish and conniving. You don't care about anyone nearly as much as you do for yourself."

Mileena listened closely to the harsh words, a small fire threatening to light the gas on an inferno.

"You don't really hold any loyalties to your so called friends and family do you? Kitana doesn't really accept you as family…"

"Now hold on a second!" Kitana said, standing up.

Reptile ignored her.

"Not only that, I'm sure that she will never give you the chance to live the life of a princess as you should. That is why Rain has offered you alone this ultimatum; withdraw from the Olympiad, or be banished from Edenia forever once Rain is king." Reptile declared.

"What?" Mileena exclaimed.

"Rain has no authority to make a decision like that!" Kitana stated protectively.

"Once he is king, and he will be, he can decide whatever the hell he wants." Reptile retorted.

"Rain will not be king, and Mileena won't take your deal. Right Mileena?" Kitana said confidently.

Mileena didn't reply, she merely stared at her feet.

"Mileena?" Kitana asked.

"Hah, she knows that I speak the truth, don't you Mileena?" Reptile asked.

Mileena finally brought her yellow eyes up to all the people looking at her. With her veil on, Mileena's emotions were conveyed through her eyes and facial movements. They showed that she was deep in thought, and deeply hurt as well, maybe even guilty?

"I, I just need to forfeit?" Mileena asked Reptile.

"Mileena…." Kitana asked quietly, feeling betrayed.

"That is it. Forfeit the match, and be treated as true royalty. And here is the icing on the cake, Rain has also offered to utilize his resources to have your tarkatan features removed. Think about it, your rage and killer instinct tempered to be more normal and civilized, your teeth and mouth changed so that people do not think of you as a freak…." Suddenly Reptile was punched in the mouth, hard.

The punch didn't come from Kitana, who was growing angrier and more protective of Mileena, or any of the others. Instead, it came from the incompetent 'grunt' who had finally given up on his sword.

"You shut your mouth lizard!" Eric shouted loudly in Reptile's face.

"First you sneak into the palace, dishonoring the guard, and then you have the audacity to insult Mistress Mileena like this? How dare you, Mileena is nothing like you have described her. She cares more for her friends and family more than you can ever know, and she would never betray them for your insulting offer. She has no need of it; she **is** a part of the royal family, she **is **as important as anyone else, and she is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen…..err, not to say anything against General Jade or Princess Kitana of course."

Everyone, including Reptile, stood silently looking at Eric. Mileena especially, who was behind him, was stiff with attention and…..gratitude? Eric drew his sword, finally, and stood his ground once again.

"Now, get out, or I'll throw you…..gaaah!" Eric choked out.

Reptile, seemingly having lost patience, had grabbed Eric by the throat and lifted him into the air, making his feet dangle in the air and he struggled for breath.

"You talk too much." Reptile said.

Reptile snarled and threw Eric across the room like a toy, making him crash into one of the book cases. Eric slid down to the ground with a pile of books covering him. Before he could get back up, Reptile pounced on him, pinning him to the wall with one hand.

"The rules state that members from each team can't attack each other, but that doesn't mean I can't rip out your intestines." Reptile said dangerously.

Reptile brought his free hand back and opened it widely, the large sharp claws aiming for his gut. Reptile snarled once more, and Eric closed his eyes, as if that would somehow block out the sensation of Reptile's clawed hand delving into his insides.

_Moma, pops, I love you. Bryant, I'm sorry I wasn't ever as good a guard as you, Mike I'm sorry for wetting the bed and blaming you bro, oh god why doesn't he get it over with?_ Eric thought to himself.

If his eyes were open, he would've seen the sharp point of a sai that was merely an inch from plunging into Reptile's eye.

"Let him go Reptile." Mileena said.

"Didn't you hear me Mileena? If you fight me, then you are disqualified from the Olympiad." Reptile said while still holding Eric down, who had finally opened his eyes.

"And if I get disqualified, then nothing is stopping me from mashing your eyes into a jam for toast then." Mileena threatened.

It was clear to everyone in the room then that Mileena was in perfect form. Reptile looked at the sai, mostly because he couldn't help it because it was dangerously close to blindly him, to say the least. Eric squirmed under his grasp a little and Reptile increased the pressure on him. Mileena in turn moved the sai closer to his eye, her ability to still not touch his eye a testament to her skill and expertise.

"No one roughs this boy up except me. No one." Mileena said dangerously.

Reptile finally got the point and released Eric, and then backed up slowly from Mileena.

"You should've taken the deal Mileena. You can't beat me in the challenge, and your team will lose the Olympiad. Once that happens, you will be banished from your home, and I will be coming back for you myself." Reptile said to Eric.

With one final look at all the assembled people, Reptile began to camouflage himself.

"The challenge starts in ten minutes, see you soon." He said before becoming invisible and walked towards the door.

The door swung open suddenly, and Reptile's cry of pain was muffled by the door pressing him against the wall and the voice of the person who entered.

"Hello everybody! I hope you are ready Mileena, your challenge against Reptile is starting in mere minutes." Raiden said.

Reptile squeezed himself from out between the door and stone wall and didn't even bother revealing himself again, he just stalked off, leaving a splash of green on the door.

"What is the first challenge Raiden?" Mileena asked.

"That will be revealed in the arena, so please everyone come." Raiden said before leaving himself.

All the assembled fighters started to get up from their seats and began making their way out.

"Thank you Mistress Mileena." Eric said.

He extended his hand to her, presuming she would help him up. Instead, she gave a book that was dangling on the edge of the bookcase a small push and it came toppling over, bouncing off of his helmeted head. It knocked his helmet so that it blocked his eyes, and he fought with it to adjust it.

"Some guard you are, getting tossed around like this…." Mileena said harshly.

Mileena reached down and grabbed hold of Eric's helmet, and she gently adjusted it for him so that he could see again.

"Thanks." She said equally gently.

Eric looked right into her eyes, seeming awe struck by Mileena's sudden tenderness. Mileena blinked herself back and she turned and left without another word.

"No problem…." Eric said quietly.

Eric got up and left, and Jax trailed behind him. Sub Zero and Jade were the last to leave.

"Thanks for the catch Sub Zero." Jade said.

She turned in Sub Zero's hands and lap and got up. She shook herself to.

"Are your hands always that cold? You gave me goose bumps." She said with a chuckle.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I can't really help it." Sub Zero said nervously.

Jade laughed again at his discomfort.

"Don't worry, I didn't mind. But lets go, this Olympiad is finally getting underway."

Sub Zero watched Jade leave while he remained sitting for another moment. He realized that his hands were in the same position as they were when he had caught Jade and held her. He involuntarily clutched at the air, as if it still had a trace of her. A foreign feeling occurred to Sub Zero, a chill of ecstasy ran up his spine.

* * *

><p>The stands around the arena were booming with villagers and nobles who excitedly cheered for the match to begin. On one side of the stage, Liu's assembled team along with Kitana stood watching. On the other was Rain's team. In elevated booths, Sindel and Jerrod watched the whole thing. On the stage stood Liu with Mileena and Rain with Reptile. Raiden stood between both of them.<p>

"Ladies and gentlemen, people of Edenia! Welcome to the first event of the Olympiad!" Raiden's voiced boomed across the arena.

The crowds roared in appreciation and excitement. More than one person extended too far over the guard rails and fell into the seats below them.

"The first event will be between these two people; competing for Rain's team, the last saurian, Reptile!"

Reptile stepped forward and roared loudly, beast like. As impossible as may have seemed, the crowds got even louder in reaction to this.

"And competing for Liu Kang's team; Princess Kitana's own sister….(_I think_) Mileena!"

Mileena strutted forward confidently and raised her hands in the air, inciting the people once again.

"Yes this challenge will test these two's unique…..talents." Raiden said.

The floor of the stage fell away in long lines. Up out of the holes were long tables, raised by pulley systems hidden within the stage. Each table was about two Shokan's long, and they were lined with food and drink. A lot of it.

"What the hell is this?" Mileena said aloud.

Reptile laughed smugly from his own table.

"I think you have to.." Liu began.

"Eat! This is the Feast of the Gods, and you must eat all of what is presented before you, whatever it is. The contestant who eats all of their food first, or outlasts their opponent, will win. There will be one intermission for the contestants to, fix themselves." Raiden said.

Reptile removed his mask to reveal his large maw, and his tongue lashed between his teeth as he approached his table. Mileena pulled her mask down her neck and approached her own table. Mileena wouldn't consider herself self-conscious, she was nearly identical to one of the most beautiful women alive after all, but she never removed her mask or veil in public if she could help it. Having all these people here, looking at her, seeing her tarkatan mouth, it made her nervous and afraid.

"Are you okay?" Liu asked her.

The question surprised her both because of it's unexpectedness and it's sincerity.

"Am I okay? This is your women." She said, trying to dismiss her own feelings.

"Yes and your sister to. I just want you to know that both of them, and I, really appreciate what you are doing Mileena. Thank you." Liu said.

Mileena did something that she rarely did with her mouth exposed. She smiled. She looked over and saw Kitana looking right at her. Mileena nodded to her reassuringly. She then turned to Reptile and flipped him off.

"Bring it on you scaly bastard." She taunted.

"Alright, contestants, begin eating!" Raiden shouted.

Mileena picked up the first thing she saw, a large loaf of bread. She quickly filled her mouth with half of the bread and chewed frantically. She looked over and was shocked to see Reptile devouring a similar loaf of in merely three bites. He ravenously moved through his food, devouring all of it like a machine. Mileena realized that she really needed to pick up the pace. Cracking her knuckles for no apparent reason other than to show she meant business, Mileena used her dagger like teeth to shred her food to ribbons. She had gotten to a point where bread, veggies, fruit, meats and wine all met in a whirlwind of delectable but filling foods. Mileena stopped for a moment and noticed that she had somehow managed to clear her table of food. Reptile merely stood with crossed arms, watching her pick herself up from her table. He looked like he had eaten a snack. Mileena was full enough for the day.

"Seconds?" Reptile asked mockingly.

The tables lowered again into the holes and raised back again in a couple of minutes completely full. This time, it was covered with wild mushrooms, raw meat and fish, and a number of plant life that would probably be appetizing when cooked, but looked like they were just picked up off the ground right now. Mileena touched her stomach, she really didn't want to eat anymore. Reptile plunged his face right into the slop, filling his mouth with what he can and almost swallowing it whole. Mileena forced herself to try and do the same.

* * *

><p>(Twenty minutes later)<p>

One left. One raw chicken breast lay on Mileena's table. She picked it up, the small piece of poultry feeling ten times heavy than it should be. She put it in her mouth and started to chew. Her jaw was tired, and her ability to taste was traumatized by having eaten all this raw food. With a stiff swallow, it was done.

"And that ends the first half of the Feast of the gods. Our contestants will have a brief intermission to relieve themselves however they please before they return for the final phase." Raiden announced.

Liu stood outside the women's bathroom with Eric. They could hear Mileena purging through the closed door.

"This is brutal. She's done for but Reptile looks like he hasn't even dented his appetite." Liu said worriedly.

"There's no point, Mileena just can't beat Reptile in a straight up eating contest. We need to tip the odds in our favor." Eric said.

"Any ideas?"

"Actually, I do have one idea." Eric said.

"Okay, I'm listening." Liu said.

"Go to the kitchen, you'll meet an old friend who can help you."

Liu traveled to the kitchen to find it in disarray. The cooks had been working non stop to prepare the food for the Feast of the Gods. He asked around for the person who was to bring up the final part of the meal, and he directed to a woman. She had a slim figure, nice legs, ample breasts, and cute asian features.

"Alice?" Liu asked.

Alice dropped a bowl full of silver ware when she saw him.

"Oh my, Master Liu. It's good to see you again, I suppose. Look if you are here about what happened last time I'm really sorry!" She said frantically.

"No, no Alice. It's fine, I know what happened and I don't blame you. I was actually hoping to ask for your help."

"My help? I hope you don't want me to compete in the Olympiad."

"No not that. I've actually come to ask you about….what is that?" Liu asked about the two large bowls behind her.

Alice turned to them and brought one over to him. She cringed from the smell and sight.

"This is the final part of the feast; Oni soup."

"Oni soup?" Liu asked.

"Yes, it's an old recipe invented by Oni from the Netherrealm. I guess they have very…..discriminating tastes." Alice said.

Liu looked at the grey mess that was in the bowl. It was lumpy, much more solid than soup should be, and he was sure something was moving just beneath the surface.

"Even Reptile will have trouble with that, but Mileena will have no chance with the state she is in. Is there something you can do to help us?" Liu asked.

"Um, nope, nothing." Alice said.

"Alice?" Liu asked suspiciously.

"Well, hold on a second."

Alice left into the large pantry and Liu heard the shuffling of a number of glass jars. She returned with one and presented it to Liu.

"These are some ingredients one of the cooks picked up from Earthrealm."

"Ingredients? These just might kill him….they are perfect!"

Liu opened up the jar and poured all of the contents into one of the bowls of Oni soup.

* * *

><p>Reptile and Mileena stood on the stage, a single pedestal in front of each of them. Reptile stood tall, but Mileena needed to lean on the pedestal for support.<p>

"Now everybody, the final course of our food challenge." Raiden said.

Alice walked onto the stage with both the bowls. She placed one on each pedestal and hurried away.

"This is Oni soup." It is a delicacy amongst the demons of the Netherrealm, but is disgusting to anyone else."

Reptile smelt the soup and he hissed at it. Mileena didn't have the constitution to do even that.

"The person who finishes first will win, or the person who cannot stomach it loses. Begin!"

Reptile hesitated, and then he looked over to Mileena who looked like she was about to faint.

"You should've taken the deal, now you'll pay for it." Reptile said.

He picked up the bowl and brought it to his mouth. Reptile let the soup pour into his mouth. He filled his mouth and put the bowl down. It tasted horrible, but he chewed what chunks were in it and swallowed. He had to breathe deeply because he was on the verge of gagging. Mileena still hadn't touched hers, she had hit the wall. Becoming bolder because of this, Reptile took another swig of the soup, again stopping to chew the chunks of something that was in it. It felt like it had seeds in it. Then he noticed that he was drooling.

Reptile was drooling, and his tongue started to feel a little numb. And then heat, minor but noticeable at first but rapidly becoming unbearable. It felt like the sun had appeared in his mouth. Reptile opened his mouth and panted like a dog, sucking in air hoping it would cool his mouth. Then his lungs started to burn…

"What the hell is this?" Reptile said to himself.

Reptile spat on the ground, the acid causing it to sizzle.

"Are you okay Reptile?" Raiden asked.

"I…I…I…." Reptile couldn't form a sentence now.

He started pacing back and forth, clawing at his mouth. He started moaning, then grunting, then yelling.

"It's hot! It's too hot!" Reptile screamed.

Everyone watched Reptile go from running to crawling and back to running again all over the stage.

"Reptile get back to your pedestal or you lose the ma.." Raiden began.

"Aaawww!" Reptile screamed.

"Water! Water! Water!" Reptile screamed this and ran off the stage and out of sight,

"Well then, Reptile cannot finish the challenge and has left the boundaries. The winner due to disqualification is Mileena!" Raiden shouted.

The crowd cheered wildly. Mileena stood confused.

"You did it Mileena! You won!" Liu said.

"But, how? What happened?" Mileena asked.

Liu thought back to the jar that he had emptied into Reptile's soup. It was labeled _15 Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers_.

"Don't worry about that, just enjoy it!"

Liu grabbed Mileena's hand and raised it into the air, causing everyone except Rain's team to clap.

* * *

><p>Rain found Reptile frolicking around on the ground, clutching his mouth and throat.<p>

"What the hell were you thinking?" Rain asked angrily.

"Water dammit! I need some fucking water!" Reptile screamed.

"I'll give you water…."

Rain made a pool of water gather underneath Reptile. He then made it shoot up like a geyser, launching Reptile fifty feet into the air and over the wall.

* * *

><p><em>If any of you are wondering why I put them in an eating contest, it is because Mileena and Reptile have both had a number of fatalities that involve them devouring people.<em>


	11. Chapter 11

"She's waking up!" Sindel said.

The assembled group of friends and 'family' crowded around her bed at the news. They had been waiting for this moment for almost two days now. Slowly, confusedly, she opened her cat like eyes.

"What's going on?" Mileena asked.

The last thing she remembered was competing against Reptile in the first event of the Olympiad, then a lot of cheering, and then nothing. Upon remembering the event, her stomach turned on it's head and a bad, no a terrible taste afflicted her tongue. She couldn't help but gag.

"Uh oh, here it comes again." Johnny said while taking a big step back.

Despite her gagging, her stomach was too empty to throw anything up. She sat up and realize that she was dressed in horribly ill fitting pajamas.

"What happened?" Mileena asked.

"Well Mileena, you won." Liu told her.

"But why am I here? And I can't remember winning anything..."

"Yes well, that last helping of oni stew gave you food poisoning." Liu explained.

"Food poisoning?"

"**Really **bad food poisoning. Not five minutes after winning the challenge did you start vomiting horribly. It turns out oni stew is just as bad, maybe worse coming back up because you didn't stop for another few hours." Liu remembered the whole thing with horribly vivid detail.

"After you collapsed we put you to bed. You didn't eat that much of the stew, so we figured it was the aftertaste and memory of it that was making you vomit, so we've been making sure you couldn't taste it anymore." Sindel explained.

Mileena noticed a garbage bin filled with empty bottles of mouth wash, tooth paste, and mints next to her bed.

"You also drenched your clothes in bile. I burned them." Sindel said.

"Burned them?" Mileena asked.

"Trust me, you wouldn't be able to clean that...'stain'." Jax told her.

"Stain? That thing was moving!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Anyway.." Kitana interrupted while scowling at Johnny, "the important thing is that you are okay. After the first day, well I thought maybe that you...I thought I had put you in.." Kitana said with sorrow.

"Stop it, this loving crap is gonna make me sick again." Mileena said uncomfortably.

"She's right, we should leave her to rest everybody. We'll see you in a few hours Mileena." Jerrod said.

"I'm fine now." Mileena insisted as she moved to get out of bed.

"The doctor instructed that you need to rest as much as you can so the stew is worked out of your system." Jerrod told her.

"Well the doctor can kiss my.."

"Rest Mileena." Jerrod combined his kingly authority with Ermac's booming voices.

Mileena crossed her arms and sat back down in bed, resembling a young child. Smiling under Ermac's wrappings despite his stern tone, Jerrod put his arm around Sindel and led her away, which served as the signal for all the others to start doing the same. In a few moments only Mileena, Eric, and Kitana remained.

"Well go on, get outta here. I need my beauty sleep remember." Mileena told Kitana.

Kitana bent over and hugged Mileena in her bed. It took Mileena off guard as well as Eric; the Princess's bodacious behind was suddenly and gloriously revealed to him.

"Thank you Mileena. You really are the best little sister anyone can ask for." Kitana said with complete sincerity.

Mileena slowly reached around Kitana's back. Something, perhaps her tarkatan blood mixing with her somewhat juvenile mind urged her to do something like yank her sister's hair out of her head, or perhaps undo her top. The second one would have been twice as funny because of Eric's inevitable heart attack that would follow. Instead however, she warmly returned the hug to her sister. There was an unspoken acknowledgment of mutual respect and acceptance for each other.

"And you.." Kitana suddenly turned her head to look at Eric.

Eric snapped to attention, not daring to meet Kitana's sapphire like eyes.

_Bryant told me this would happen, but noooo I just had to be a pig and peek to long. Oh crap she's right in front of me! Don't look at her breasts, don't look at her breasts, don't look at her...breasts... **no don't!**_

Kitana stood right in front of him with her hands on her hips, somehow dwarfing the larger man with sheer audaciousness alone. The beginnings of waterfalls of sweat started to gather at the top of Eric's brow, threatening to start pouring down his face if he had to withstand her intense gaze much longer.

_That's it, I'm done for..._

"You have a lot of responsibility now Eric. I want you to do whatever it takes to make her feel better. That's a royal decree, do you understand?"

Eric just nodded his head, making his helmet flap around.

"It is also a big personal favor to me, do you understand?" She asked more lightly this time.

"Yes Princess Kitana. I understand completely."

Kitana nodded and left for the door. Just before exiting, she gave Mileena one last look.

"Be good to him Mileena."

"Aren't I always." Mileena said snidely.

After Kitana left Eric stood in silence, while Mileena just sat there. After several uncomfortable seconds, Eric was about to say something before Mileena jumped out of her bed.

"Okay she's gone. Let's go." She said.

"Go where? You are supposed to be resting."

"I'm fine, and I'm not going to be stuck in these ridiculous clothes any longer. Now let's go."

"But, but.."

"Remember, it's a royal decree and a close personal favor of the princess, who caught you staring at her ass. That's twice you've been caught from what I gather now." Mileena then left the room.

The logic of his duties having been twisted in a cruel way, Eric quickly followed Mileena out.

* * *

><p>Liu sat with the other competitors that he had assembled to compete on his side in the Olympiad; Johnny Cage, Jax, Jade, and Sub Zero.<p>

"We've got one win in our pocket now thanks to Mileena; anyone got any a clue as to what the next challenge might be, or who will be competing?" Jade asked no one in particular.

"The last challenge seemed to pertain to the people competing. I mean, a grotesque eating contest made sense." Sub Zero stated.

"It made sense for Reptile at least, but Mileena too?" Jax asked.

"Hey I remember fighting her a couple of times back when Shao Kahn was running things. Pinky is a biter." Johnny told him.

"Assuming Sub Zero is right, what kind of challenge could each of the pairs be suited to?" Liu asked.

"The only similarity I see between Kano and I are our cybernetic enhancements. I don't see what application that could have in a challenge though." Jax said.

"Building a giant robot?" Johnny suggested.

The others just gave him deadpanned looks of condescension.

"What? With all the people we've come across with cybernetic enhancements, none of you find it weird that nobody has built a giant robot?" Johnny defended.

"On a more serious note Johnny, what challenge do you think you will face Reiko in?" Jade asked.

"Well I doubt he has any acting experience. He is a decent looking guy though, maybe the challenge will have us trying to woo unsuspecting ladies. But then again, it's really no competition. I mean, come on!" He tilted his head and flashed his pearly whites.

Jade rolled her eyes.

"Clearly there is no serious note. What about Scorpion and you Sub Zero?" Jade asked the Lin Kuei.

"I'm not sure." He replied.

"What do you mean you aren't sure? You are both ninjas, you'll do...ninja...stuff." Johnny said.

"Sub Zero is capable of much more than just 'ninja stuff'."Jade said with annoyance.

The slightest of blushes came to Sub Zero beneath his mask.

"Thank you Jade, but I really have no clue as to what Scorpion and I will be doing. What do you think you will doing with Tanya?"

"Aside from making her wish she were dead?" Jade said seriously.

Her sudden seriousness took the men by surprise.

"Well you are both very strong and capable fighters, as well as cunning and smart..." Sub Zero began.

"I would rather not be compared to her in anyway Sub Zero." Jade said.

"I,I, of course not she nothing like you at all." Sub Zero said frantically.

Johnny watched him with growing empathy.

_Oh Sub Zero, you really need to work on your game. I'll bail you out this time.._

"How about instead of playing the guess game we just ask Raiden?" Johnny said.

"No wait!" Liu practically screamed.

A lighting bolt crashed into the table they were all sitting around, closer to Liu than anyone else. Raiden stood in it's place, and Liu had scorch marks on his face and his hair was blown back.

"You called for me?" Raiden said.

"Raiden, can you see where you are are going when you do that?" Liu asked.

"Honestly, no. But have no fear Liu, for lightning never strikes the same place twice."

_But you've done this more than twice to me._ Liu thought.

"Yes Raiden, we have called you here because we are curious as to what the next challenge is." Jade said.

"What a coincidence because it's time to start it. Come Major Briggs, you shall face Kano in the challenge of Articulation and Innovation." Raiden said.

"The what of what?" Jax asked.

"You and Kano will be provided with a number of materials and must construct a working war machine. The two machines will then be pitted against each other in a battle."

"So, you mean.." Jax began.

"Giant robots baby!" Johnny shouted triumphantly.

"Well I'll be damned." Jax said with disbelief.

* * *

><p>The trip into town had been surprisingly peaceful, or at least peaceful enough considering Eric's travelling partner. After Mileena had somehow gotten her hands on some servant girl's clothes, the two of them stealthily left the palace and headed into town. He attracted little attention; many men and women wore the military uniform he did. Mileena, along with her serving girl's outfit, also wore a cloak that covered her head. She head been cursing various things the entire way.<p>

"Mistress, where are we going?" Eric whispered.

"Just keep walking." She replied.

"But the King said you are to remain in bed."

"And the Princess and future Queen said to do whatever you need to do in order to help me get better. Well you need to do this."

"But I don't know what we are doing!"

"There." She suddenly picked up her pace.

She led him into a high end clothing boutique. Only the richest citizens even bothered coming in here, and sometimes they were just looking not buying. Having a guard and serving girl walk in was surprising to say the least to the store clerk.

"Nothing in here is going to fit you I'm afraid." The clerk said to Eric.

"And you won't be able to afford one of our gloves if you saved all of your money for the rest of your life." She said to Mileena.

"Well then it's a good thing that I have no intention paying." Mileena said as she removed her cloak.

The air of superiority fell from the clerk, along with all the color in her face.

"P-P-P-Princes Mileena! It is such an honor to have you in my store! Can I interest you in..."

"I wouldn't wear any of your clothes if they were free. Get Sasha out here." Mileena ordered.

Obviously outgunned, the clerk practically ran into the back room and returned a few moments later with an elderly woman.

"Aw, Mileena. You are dressing more conservatively now I see." Sasha said.

"My clothes met a fiery end. I need you to whip me up something." Mileena said.

The old woman sighed and led Mileena to the backroom. Eric tried to follow them but was stopped by Sasha.

"You can't come in here, what are you some kind of pervert?" The old woman asked him with all seriousness.

"What? No it's my job to..." Eric tried to defend.

"You have no idea Sasha." Mileena said with an evil giggle.

Both the women kept on laughing behind the door, making Eric feel like he was back in school again.

* * *

><p>The roar of the crowd grew louder as Kano stepped up onto the platform to face Jax.<p>

"Welcome back everybody!" Raiden shouted over the cheers.

"Today we have a challenge that will test the abilities of these two men to create something functional and effective. Behold!"

Parts of the floor moved away and large tables covered with gears, levers, pulleys, wires, springs and hundreds of more pieces of machinery were raised in their place.

"Using the materials here, each of you must build a machine to do battle."

"Giant fucking robots baby!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

"I know right!" Johnny shouted back.

"You may begin." Raiden said.

Jax and Kano both approached the tables of materials and started sifting through them.

"It's been a while mate, tell me, how's my sweet little Sonya?" Kano asked him.

"Don't be pushing your luck Kano. You're lucky that these robots are going to be fighting and not us." Jax said.

"This job requires some brains doesn't it? Your bot ain't going to be doing much of anything if you just try to smash everything together like the neanderthal that you are." Kano said to insult him.

"Are you really one to be talking about brains? I mean, half of your head is just a big light bulb now is it?" Jax retorted.

Kano spat on the ground and moved further down the line, leaving Jax to his work and with a smug smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Eric leaned against the door to the backroom, half asleep. Mileena and the old woman had been in there for almost three hours now. The nerves he had about having Mileena out of bed had somewhat subsided now, at least until the door he had been leaning on was kicked open and he was pinned on the wall.<p>

"You've done well Sasha, again." He could hear Mileena's voice.

"Did you really need to cut off that middle part? I thought it gave you a more classy look." The old woman's voice said.

"It was too constricting, and aren't I classy enough already?"

"Oh yes, very classy."

"You are too old to use sarcasm Sasha, you just sound like you are going senile. Hey you, bitchy sales woman! Where did my dumb companion go?"

Eric pushed the door off of him so that he could be seen.

"I'm right here Mistress Mileeema..." He suddenly lost control of his brain and speech.

Mileena was wearing a mostly black outfit with pink trim. It covered her arms and ran down the back with a long and elaborate loin cloth. On her front she merely wore what could best be described as expensive looking panties, and she had knee high heels on her feet. The 'top' pretty much looked like it stopped just short of covering her nipples, with a black sash running over her shoulder to conceal them. The bottom halves of her breasts and her belly were completely bare. She also wore her hair up now, and a veil now covered her mouth instead of a mask.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Come on, I want to head back to the palace and watch the next Olympiad challenge." Mileena said as she started walking for the door.

"You really are a pervert." Sasha said quietly to him.

"I, I,"

"I don't blame you." She whispered to him.

Before the situation could get anymore uncomfortable, Eric hurried out after Mileena. She had completely abandoned her discretion and now flaunted around like she were a princess, which she actually was. The eyes of both men and women were drawn to her, half because she was royalty and half because of her attire.

"Isn't that outfit a little, breezy?" Eric asked her.

"Listen Eric, you're gonna need to grow some balls while you are my 'bodyguard'. I don't want a kicked puppy following me around all the time." Mileena said.

Something told him that remaining quiet would just prove her current opinion of him. Gathering as much courage as he had, and perhaps throwing some sense out the window, he revealed the truth.

"I'm not required to watch over you anymore Mileena."

Mileena stopped in her tracks and he had to be careful not to walk into her. She stood rigidly, quiet. Then she turned to him with intense tarkatan eyes.

"What?" She said, sounding angry.

_I fucked up big time._

__"The King relieved me from that duty after the Olympiad was declared to happen."

"So you didn't need to be following me everywhere?"

"Since that incident in the library with Reptile, no I didn't."

Mileena remembered that. Reptile's message from Rain, the offer he had given her, the consequence she now faced if Rain won the Olympiad, the things Eric had said.

"I'm sorry for deceiving you. I did it...well I don't know why I did it. I'll...I'll just leave you alone now." Eric started walking away from her.

"Hey!" She shouted at him.

He stopped and she approached him. Then she smacked him in the head, turning his helmet around.

"I don't like being lied to." She said angrily.

Eric struggled to rearrange his helmet so he could see something other than just blackness. Someone turned his helmet back around and he saw Mileena again, not looking angry though.

"And what kind of guard are you anyway? You would leave your princess here alone? I could get hurt!" She exaggerated an innocent voice.

"Well then, lets get you back then my princess." Eric said happily.

The two of them started walking again, until Mileena grabbed hold of his sword and took it out of the sheath and started running away.

"Yeah, some guard you are!" She shouted back, smiling under her veil.

Eric ran after her, smiling under his helmet.

* * *

><p>The people in the crowd stared wide eyed at the sight before them. Two twenty foot tall machines stood on the platform. One had over sized arms, the other had an opening with a bright red light emitting from one of its eyes.<p>

"The resemblance is uncanny." Jade said.

"I know, it's like they are looking in a mirror." Johnny added.

"Ladies and gentlemen, both our competitors have completed their creations. Now, the moment you have all been waiting for!" Raiden shouted.

A loud rumbling sound could be heard and then huge glass walls rose from the ground surrounding the arena. They rose high into the iar and then closed over the top, creating a glass dome around the arena.

"Just a precautionary measure so that we don't endanger the villages. Competitors, prepare yourselves for battle."

Liu stood with Jax by his robot, looking over the remote control they were given.

"Two joystics, four buttons. It looks easy enough." Liu said.

"Don't worry Liu, I got this. I'm crazy at video games, I ranked up to level ten on Call of Duty in just a week!" Jax boasted.

"Um, yeah, you go champ." Liu said.

Over on the other side, Kano stood with Rain underneath his robot.

"I trust that you know how to work this thing?" Rain asked.

"I built it didn't I?" Kano answered.

"Alright you, let's rumble!" Raiden shouted.

Kano and Jax both pressed a button on their controllers and the robots roared to life. Lights turned on, parts could be heard moving, and the crowd cheered even more.

"Let's go cyclops!" Jax mocked.

"Bring it you...you... just bring it!" Kano shouted back.

Both of the machines groaned as they started to approach each other. It was truly going to be a clash of titans. At least, until Jax's robot couldn't lift it's arms and Kano's bot fell over because the one side of its head dragged it down.

"It's too heavy!" They both shouted.

Jax made his robot tug and tug, but it just couldn't lift the huge arms it had. Kano had his robot kicking its legs in the air, unable to get its head up.

"Let me do it!" Rain shouted as he ripped the controller out of Kano's hands.

"Wait, don't push the," Kano began.

"What does this red button do?" Rain said as he pushed it.

"Oh boy...

The glowing red eye of Kano's robot started to get brighter, and arcs of electricity started shooting out.

"Hit the deck!" Kano screamed.

A second after, a laser beam shot out from the robots eye, missing Jax's robot and hitting the glass wall, and rebounding off of it. All hell broke loose as the large laser beam start reflecting off of the glass walls, it's direction unpredictable. People were running and diving, others put their head in between their legs. As the laser was about to hit Jade, Sub Zero created a reflective sheet of glass and rebounded it away from her.

"Nice work slick." She said to him.

"Of course, anytime!" Sub Zero said happily.

Johnny did the splits to avoid the laser and gave him a thumbs up, much to his annoyance.

The laser reflected once more before it hit Jax's robot right in the chest, melting through. The robot began to shake and sparks started flying from it. In an instant, a violent explosion blinded everyone in the arena. When they could see again, the only thing remaining of Jax's robot were the over sized arms.

Coughing against the smoke, Raiden inspected the scene. Jax's robot was pretty much gone, and Kano's bot, still stuck on the ground but functional, remained.

"I'm sorry Liu..." Raiden said.

"The winner of this challenge is Kano!" He shouted.

The crowd cheered, Liu and Kitana grimaced, and Rain smiled vainly at the words.

* * *

><p><em>I'm finally updating this. It's been too long, but technical difficulties have been a bitch for me so far. I hope everyone is enjoying reading this so far. Read, review, and leave suggestions.<em>


	12. Chapter 12

Even minutes after the violent explosion, plastic and metal that had been eviscerated by the force and flame into a congesting dust continued to slowly drift down from the sky and onto the ground. The crowd, also covered with ash and dust, remained oblivious to it and cheered hysterically. Whether they had heard Raiden's declaration of Kano's victory for Rain's team or not seemed irrevelevant, so long as they were entertained they remained indifferent to the victor. The losing team, Kitana and Liu Kang especially, had a much more somber reaction to the loss. Almost as bad as Jax's.

"Dammit!" Jax cursed.

"Jax..." Liu tried to console him.

Jax reached back and brought his fist down onto the ground in anger. Liu had to stop and steady himself against the shaking ground, the punch was even harder than normal, evident by Jax struggling to pull his arm free from the destroyed stone.

"Jax..." Liu tried again.

With another great and angry heave, Jax yanked his arm from the ground. He didn't take care to compensate for his momentum and almost sent Liu's head into the outfield had the monk not ducked.

"Jax!" Liu yelled.

"I'm done, I'm done..." Jax said, calming down.

Liu stood up and put his arm around the larger man, admitting to himself that he was ready to hit the deck again at a moments notice. Liu led Jax away to the sound of Kano's laughter, something that threatened to ignite the fire once again. He spared a glance backwards and met Rain's eyes. As impossible as it may have seemed, the purple ninja appeared even more sure of himself.

"I'm sorry Liu, I screwed up and I'm sorry." Jax said.

"It's alright Jax, this isn't over yet." Liu said reassuringly.

He wasn't reassured by his own words however. After gathering a team to compete, and after Mileena's victory over Reptile, the idea that Rain could possibly win was far off. Jax's loss was a sobering turn of events. Sobering, but still leaving one's stomach weak.

* * *

><p>"You're being ridiculous." Sub Zero said, annoyed.<p>

"Oh come on, just try!" Johnny insisted.

"I will not."

"You know you want to."

"I'm not into this kind of stuff." Sub Zero said defensively.

"Do it!"

"No!"

"Come here..."

From the other side of the door, Bryant listened to the conversation and now grunts coming from what sounded like a scuffle.

_It's always this Cage fellow. With all the womanizing he does, the boy must be stuck in the closet._ He thought while walking away.

Sub Zero had managed to pull Johnny off of him, but the damage was done. Johnny stood back and smiled in satisfaction.

"Why?" Sub Zero asked.

"Because you needed it."

Looking in the mirror, Sub Zero grimaced beneath his mask at the sight reflecting back at him; a pair of Johnny's signature sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Lin Kuei do not wear sunglasses." Sub Zero stated.

"And how many Lin Kuei have gotten a date?" Johnny retorted.

"I'm not trying to get a date!"

"So your just trying to get in her pants? That's not how a gentleman works." Johnny joked.

"No! I mean yes I know it isn't but I'm not trying to,to get in anyone's pants." Sub Zero defended.

"What are you, abstinent or something?" Johnny half joked.

"Dammit Johnny!" Sub Zero said, losing patience.

He took a step and hit his shin against the dresser. Normally he would've remained composed, but the pain compounded atop his frustration.

"Fuck!" Sub Zero cursed.

Johnny was surprised by the swearing, he had never heard nor expected it from Sub Zero.

"Why the hell do you wear sunglasses indoors anyway? There is already little light in here, now I struggle to see what's right in front of me!" Sub Zero said, irate.

"You done?" Johnny asked.

Sub Zero kicked the dresser he hit his shin against, the wood showing remarkable durability by not braking.

"Now I am." Sub Zero said.

"Alright then, now listen my friend. If you want to hook up with Jade, you need to loosen up a bit. Actually, a lot."

"Oh this again, for the last time, I don't want to.." Sub Zero began.

Johnny dropped his glasses down his nose enough so that Sub Zero could see his look of derision.

"Okay, maybe I am interested in her." Sub Zero conceded.

Johnny continued his look, breaking Sub Zero down.

"Fine, I've been infatuated with Jade for a long time now. Her intelligence and charm, and even her fiery tenacity enthrall me." Sub Zero said appreciatively.

"Not too mention her, you know hmmm?" Johnny said.

He made hourglass shapes with his hands in the air, as well as gestures looking like he was cupping something in his hands and then squeezing it. Sub Zero understood it, but he refused to humor the actor.

"Yes." He stated simply.

"So whats stopping you from making a move?" Johnny asked.

"I don't have much experience in 'making moves'." Sub Zero said, clearly unused to using such an expression.

"Wait..." Johnny said with surprising seriousness.

"Have you gotten it in yet?"

"Have I what?" Sub Zero asked.

"Have you done the do?"

"Do what?"

"Laid the pipe!"

"I'm not a plumber!"

"Made the ceiling creak!"

"My room is on the ground floor!."

"Popped the cherry!"

"I don't like cherries!"

Johnny removed his glasses and pulled Sub Zero close, looking him right in the eyes.

"Are, you, a, virgin?"

"Oh, no I'm not." Sub Zero told him.

Johnny was relieved and released him, putting his sunglasses back on.

"Alright then, I can work with you. I was worried there for a second."

"'Work with me'?" Sub Zero asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna make you the ultimate ladies man, a Cage protege." Johnny said proudly.

"No offense Johnny, but I don't think anything you think you can teach me will impress Jade."

"Well offense taken, why not?" Johnny asked.

"Jade is refined and thoughtful, and you, well," Sub Zero began.

A light knock on the door interrupted them. Sub Zero opened the door to the beautiful, if darker due to the sunglasses sight of Jade.

_The glasses!_ He mentally spazzed out.

"Oh! I didn't expect to see you here Sub Zero. Is Johnny in there?" Jade asked.

Sub Zero merely nodded and stepped aside so that she could step in.

"Guess what Johnny, it's your time to shine. Your set to compete against Reiko in ten minutes."

"Can I get a kiss for good luck?" Johnny asked.

_Don't you dare._ Sub Zero thought dangerously.

"Considering your movies have made as much money as they have, I'd say your the luckiest man I know already." She told him playfully.

"Keep making cracks like that and I might just find someone else to play my co star in my next movie."

"You might as well unless you want me to upstage you in your own movie. Remember, ten minutes. I've got to find Liu and Kitana."

She stepped into the hallway and stopped abruptly. She turned her head without turning her back, making her silky hair flip and cascade over her shoulder. In Sub Zero's head, the single moment went in slow motion, with the beat of a Barry White song playing.

"By the way Sub Zero, I like the accessorie. It's too bad they are tinted though, you have nice eyes."

She continued down the hall and Sub Zero closed the door.

"Do these come in different colors?" He asked Johnny almost desperately.

"In due time my protege, in due time." Johnny said smiling.

* * *

><p>"Petitions, complaints, grievances, what does that one say Kitana?" Sindel asked.<p>

Kitana didn't hear her. Her own thoughts were deafening. After Jax had lost to Kano, she and Liu Kang had come to her parents quarters.

"Kitana, are you okay?" Sindel asked, nudging her.

Her mother's touch brought her back to reality as she lifted her head from an almost comatose like state. She fumbled with the letters.

"It says, this one is, one moment..." Kitana said.

Sindel placed her hand on the letters and pulled them away.

"Don't worry about that for now." Sindel said.

"If I'm going to be queen one day I can't let little things stop me from doing basic duties." Kitana said stubbornly, reaching for the letters.

Sindel moved them even farther out of her grasp the way a mother would try and keep a child from taking a piece of candy.

"Well right now you aren't the queen yet, and this isn't one of the little things." Sindel said.

"I'm fine."

"Kitana..."

"Fine. No, I'm not okay. My entire life is threatened to be altered drastically, and I can't do a thing to stop it."

"I know how you feel, but even if Rain does win, will it really be that bad? I'm sure that he will make a good king...and maybe a good husband if you give him..."

"But I love Liu!" Kitana interrupted emotionally.

"I know, but.." Sindel tried again.

"There is no but mother. Rain may be a demi-god, and he may be royalty, but he isn't Liu. You can't know how I feel if you can even suggest to simply accept marrying Rain over Liu."

There was a silence between the two of them, Sindel knew that she had crossed the line and Kitana knew that she had snapped on her mother unjustly. Sindel knew that a good mother could never expect her child to be the first to apologize when both were at fault. She looked out onto the balcony and saw Liu and Jerrod looking out across the land, talking.

"It's amazing isn't?" Sindel said, gesturing to the two men.

Kitana looked over and couldn't help but feel a little better. She had asked the both of them to try and get along, and it actually happened.

"Not long ago they were ready to kill each other, now they look like the best of friends."

* * *

><p>"Are you fucking kidding me?" Liu said quietly.<p>

"Now hold on..." Jerrod said.

"No, no, I can't believe you really expect me to just accept it if Rain wins."

"Well if he does, it won't do you or Kitana any good if you keep brooding about it."

"Brooding? Kitana is my life, and losing her will do more than just hurt my damn feelings. Have you completely forgotten what it means to love somebody?"

Ermac's eyes briefly flashed green to show his anger at the comment. Despite this, Jerrod maintained his composure.

"I just want you to know that this Olympiad can go either way, and the rules are final. I've got confidence in you, but I've also got confidence in Rain. I need to know that if he does win the sole right to marry Kitana, that you won't be a..." Jerrod wasn't sure how to finish his sentence.

"Distraction? Nuisance? Annoyance?" Liu asked angrily, and a little hurt.

"You know what I mean, I hope." Jerrod said.

The same silence in the room behind them had spread to them.

"Is this just for Kitana's sake, or are you more worried about your kingdom?" Liu asked without looking at him.

No reply came initially, until Jerrod turned to leave.

"You know what I mean." Ermac's voices said quietly.

The rift that Liu had worked so hard to close between them had cracked open again. Liu sighed heavily and leaned against the railing, looking down at the arena, which was just now cleaned from the last match. He could hear the echoes of the servants.

"Finally! I thought we were never gonna get this clean." One said.

"This whole job was bullshit, why were we the only ones cleaning it? This was too big a task for just the few of us." Another said, clearly vexed.

"Quit your whining, this wasn't as bad as cleaning up after Kitana's boy toy when he shit the toilet to death." Another said.

From high above the working men, Liu flipped them off with both hands and went back in the room. When he did, Jade was there to explain the next round of the Olympiad.

* * *

><p>The now familiar crowds of spectators had increased three fold in number today. Word that the last round had gone to Rain spread like wildfire. The growth of people wanting to watch wasn't due to a desire to cheer for one side or the other, but rather it was from the promise of entertainment. Both teams took their usual spots on opposite sides of the arena. Liu stood with Johnny, and Rain with Reiko. To Liu's relief, Raiden was already waiting for them in the center. The thunder god's poorly aimed electrifying entrances had made him jumpy even during sun showers.<p>

"Welcome back everybody!" Raiden shouted to the crowds, making them cheer loudly.

"Today our competitors will be reaching new heights, behold!"

Raiden raised his hand and lighting bolts shot from it. Each bolt stopped in the air and then expanded, and then opened up. The final shape was rectangular, but instead of the clear blue Edenian skies, black and stormy clouds appeared within the electric rectangles.

"These magical screens will allow you view the action, because the two competitors will be going to a different location." Raiden revealed.

The screens, acting like camera lenses, seemed to zoom out and give a wider view of the unknown location. The first thing noticeable were all the wooden posts protruding from the ground. They varied widely in sizes, some reach so high that their tops couldn't be seen within the scope of the picture. The screens moved even more to reveal an absolutely massive structure.

"When I said they would be reaching new heights, I really meant it. They will be racing to the top of the Sky Temple! Will the contestants please step forth."

Reiko took a step forward, and Rain whispered into his ear.

"Succeed, and you will be a General of the Edenian army, and will be governor of Outworld when I take control of it." Rain said.

Whilst being a General under Shao Kahn, Reiko had coveted the title of Emperor of Outworld greatly. Being governor would suffice for now.

Reiko took another step and Rain gripped his arm tightly.

"Fail, and I'll rip your balls off." Rain said before releasing him.

Reiko's pride wouldn't allow him to acknowledge his nervous gulp. On the other side of the stage, Johnny was shadow boxing with a confident smile on his face.

"Sky Temple, huh? That sounds interesting, I'm gonna try and grab some pics to bring back to my producer. It might be a cool setting for a movie!" Johnny stated.

"This is serious Johnny." Liu stated glumly.

"Yeah I know! I read a review of one of my older movies and the bastard said that I was reusing sets!" Johnny said in disbelief.

"Goddammit Johnny could you get over yourself just for a minute?" Liu said angrily.

"What's your problem?" Johnny asked.

"My problem? My problem is that my life could be over because someone I chose to help me couldn't focus!" Liu shouted.

Johnny stopped his shadow boxing and just stared at Liu, his eyebrows and sunglasses conveying his concern and slight discomfort. Liu dug his hands into his head like he was trying to keep his skull from falling out of his head.

_And I'm just supposed to 'accept it' if the women I love is kept from me forever._

"Johnny I just, I don't know what I would do with myself if I lost Kitana. I know your heart is in the right place...just, make me proud." Liu said in an almost defeated tone.

Johnny removed his sunglasses and handed them to Liu, who was confused.

"Today's that day Liu." Johnny said with conviction.

"Give those to Kitana for me, tell baby blue I expect here to be here to return them to me when I win."

Before Liu could respond, Johnny jogged over to Raiden and in a moment the two of them along with Reiko disappeared in a flash of lightning. With the three men suddenly gone, the view between Liu and Rain was unobstructed. The ninja stared daggers at him. Liu tried to match it, but he ended just staring hopefully at Johnny's sunglasses.

* * *

><p>"Damn!" Johnny and Reiko both exclaimed.<p>

"Indeed." Raiden added.

The three of them were standing at the base of the Sky Temple. Even leaning their heads back as far as they could, the top was nowhere in sight.

"What is the purpose of all these wooden poles?" Reiko asked.

"They are your way up." Raiden answered.

The poles were small, large, and incredibly massive. Some seemed to even be as tall as the Sky Temple itself. There was no visible order to their placement.

"The winner is declared when one of you reaches the courtyard at the top of the temple. Both of you are allowed to try and prevent the other from reaching the top." Raiden explained.

"Wait, you mean we can knock each other off?" Johnny asked.

"Yes. Don't worry, we have taken the necessary safety precautions." Raiden assured.

He gestured to many servants laying pillows all over the ground.

"Are those pillows?" Johnny asked in disbelief.

"You may begin!" Raiden shouted before hastily disappearing in a flash of lightning.

"Those are fucking pillows!" Johnny said again, thinking that Reiko was listening.

He turned and saw the back of his opponent sprinting away towards the nearest wooden pole.

"Oh come on!" Johnny said while turning to do the same.

He took a running start and jumped atop a pole that was a little more than half his own height. He stopped for a moment to get his balance, the pole was barely wide enough for him to place both his feet on it. Looking back, he saw Reiko was leaping from one pole to another, landing on one foot and then pushing off to another pole to land on another. He had already gotten around thirty feet in the air. Johnny slicked back his hard and undid the top buttons of his shirt.

"Today's that day." He said to himself, and took to the skies.

* * *

><p>Back in Edenia, the crowds of spectators and the contestants who had already competed or have yet to compete watched the electric screens. Reiko was in the lead, but Johnny looked like he was slowly catching up. Rain sat comfortably in an ornate chair with his mask pulled down so that he could sip from his glass of wine. Tanya sat in a similar chair with one leg crossed over the other. Scorpion stood away from both of them a little, standing straight with his arms crossed.<p>

"Reiko has taken an early lead." Rain stated.

"Indeed my lord, that fool actor has absolutely no chance of beating him." Tanya said energetically, eager to agree with Rain.

"Once Reiko wins this round, I will need only one more victory before Kitana, and Edenia, and godhood are mine." Rain said.

"And long life to you Rain, King of Edenia!" Tanya said.

Rain knew that Tanya was just a rat of a woman that would say anything that she thought would get her into a better position. Still, he enjoyed her adoration.

"What about you Scorpion? Any observations that you would like to share?" Rain asked.

The specter said nothing.

"Not much of a talker, that one." Rain said.

The slightest of snores escaped of Scorpion's mask, but Rain didn't notice it.

* * *

><p><em>Don't look down, don't look down, don't look...holy hell!<em> Johnny thought once he looked down.

Having lost track of time, Johnny was several hundred feet in the air, perched precariously atop the tallest wooden that he had reached so far. Despite the cool stormy air, his body heat was high. Constantly jumping higher and higher was exhausting. He hadn't seen Reiko since they had started climbing. Not knowing whether or not he had gotten higher than Reiko, Johnny pushed on. He looked around for the shortest pole. What he found was almost a foot above his head, and nearly six feet away from him. There was a closer pole, but it was higher than Johnny thought he could reach. He decided to risk going the distance to the shorter one. Planting both his feet in place, Johnny bounded forward. He misjudged the distance grabbed the top of the pillar with his hands, while the rest of his body dangled in the air.

"Holy crap!" Johnny yelled, his voice echoing across the sky.

Johnny held on for dear life, he wasn't willing to test those pillows at the bottom below, far below. He tried to climb up with his legs, until a shuriken got lodged into the wood right next to his head. Still dangling off the edge, he turned enough to see Reiko about twenty feet away, and about half that higher than him, and with a handful of shurikens.

"You look like you need a hand getting down, let me help you!" Reiko mocked.

Johnny saw two more shurikens heading towards him, and he quickly shuffled around to the other side of the pillar for cover. Calling on his reserves of energy, Johnny hefted himself up onto the top of the pillar. Not wasting any time, he jumped up to higher one to gain a better position. Dodging another shuriken, he gathered the green energy into his hand and tossed the ball at Reiko. Reiko jumped to a higher pole to avoid being hit.

"Is that all you got you spike fetish freak?" Johnny challenged.

To Johnny's surprise, Reiko moved to a lower pole and out of sight.

"I guessed I scared him off." Johnny said cockily.

He prepared to jump up higher, but then the pole he stood atop started to rock, and then topple over!

"Hey, hey, hey!" Johnny panicked.

A few meters down, Reiko watched as the pillar he had broke toppled over, crashing into other ones and breaking them as well. Since many of these pillars were hundreds of feet high, it was a spectacular sight. With thunderous crashes, massive pieces of wood started the long fall to the ground far below, along with the pillar Johnny was on.

"You should have sent your stunt double." Reiko said victoriously.

"No stunt double can capture the essence of the Cage!" Someone said from above him.

Reiko looked up and saw Johnny hanging from a windowsill of the Sky Temple. Johnny pulled himself up and started climbing up the windowsills above him until he got close enough to an intact pillar. Enraged, Reiko realized that his attempt to kill Johnny had destroyed anyway for him to start climbing higher on this side. Snarling, he started moving across the pillars to the other side of the Sky Temple.

* * *

><p>A roar of cheers erupted from the crowds of spectators. Johnny's miraculous survival was one of the most exciting things that they had seen so far. Still in his chair, Rain crushed the wine glass in his hand, the bleeding blood and wine becoming indistinguishable as it dripped onto the ground.<p>

"Damn that fool Reiko!" He seethed.

"Yes, damn him to the deepest and hottest pits of the Netherrealm!" Tanya added.

Annoyed, Rain gathered the blood and wine from his cut hand and shot it forward at Tanya's head, making him flip over out of her chair.

"Will you shut up for once? Be more like him." Rain ordered while pointing to Scorpion still standing silently with his arms crossed.

Rain still didn't notice the slight snores coming from Scorpion.

* * *

><p>Johnny couldn't see the ground anymore. Whether it was from the stormy weather making it hard to see, or his own exhaustion, he didn't know. He had actually been keeping track of time this time, it had been almost half an hour that he had been jumping and climbing since leaving Reiko. The air was thinner because of how high he was, making each breath less rejuvenating. The wind made every sway of his body potential deadly if he slipped off. He sat down on the top of his pole, letting his feet dangle. His legs felt like they were being deflated.<p>

"Uh, this is bullshit, I want my trailer!" He complained.

When he looked up he noticed something hanging from the Sky Temple. It was green, and leafy. Johnny reluctantly got back to his feet and cupped his hands around his eyes for a clearer image. Perhaps another seventy feet above him, he could see plants, and fences. The courtyard! Seeing his goal gave Johnny the energy to start moving again. He jumped, climbed, turned, and jumped again. The closer he got, the faster and more vigorously he moved as the smile returned to his face. With another great jump he came across an anomaly, the poles here where all the same height. He could now simply take large steps across them instead of jumping. He started moving towards the balcony of the courtyard when something sharp collided with his shoulder. He gasped in pain and stumbled forward, almost losing his footing and falling. He reached back and pulled the object out; it was a shuriken.

"Oh come on!" Johnny whined as he turned to find Reiko just a few feet behind him.

"That was impressive down below actor, but now I'm going to throw you down there myself!" Reiko claimed.

The white eyed man cam running across the poles, attempting to close line Johnny. Johnny ducked under it and quickly landed a light punch into Reiko's side as he ran past him. Reiko stopped and pivoted on one foot, bringing his leg back to roundhouse Johnny. The blow connected with his back and made Johnny flip over, and he smashed his back onto the pillar he flipped onto. He winced at the pain, and he opened his eyes in time to see Reiko's boot coming towards his face. Unable to avoid it, he brought his hands up and caught Reiko's foot, straining to hold it up.

"The audacity you have; an actor thinking he is a match for a real warrior." Reiko sneered and continued to push down.

"All you are good for is smiling and signing autographs; when I become General of Edenia's armies, your realm will be the first one I conquer."

Johnny rolled off the pillar while still holding onto Reiko's foot. Reiko was taken by surprise by the practically suicidal move and had to quickly place both his hands on a pillar to stop himself from falling. Struggling to hold on, he felt Johnny climbing up his body. The actor climbed above his shoulders and pushed off his face to get back on top. Unable to pull himself back up, Reiko watched Johnny place both his feet and separate pillars and then do the splits, coming to eye level with him.

"Real warrior, you just got put, in the CAGE!" Johnny yelled before punching Reiko in the face.

Reiko lost his grip and went plummeting through the air, yelling all the way down.

* * *

><p>Dead silence loomed as both teams and the spectators watched Reiko fall for about five minutes. Right before hitting the ground and landing on the assortment of pillows, he landed on one of the shortest wooden pillars, crotch first.<p>

"Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh!" All the people watching exclaimed loudly at the sight.

Most of the men present impulsively reached for their own crotches as if the unimaginable pain was felt by them as well. Rain smashed his ornate chair to pieces, and Liu whooped in joy and picked Kitana up in a hug. Standing next to one of the lightning screens shwoing Johnny doing the moon walk atop the Sky Temple, Raiden proclaimed the winner.

"This round goes to Johnny Cage!"

Rain had finished pulverizing his chair and stormed off. Scorpion woke up groggily from his sleep because of Rain's outburst.

"What happened?" Scorpion asked no one in particular.

* * *

><p><em>Procrastination is a motherfucker, so sorry for the extremely long wait again. Please read, review, and suggest.<em>


	13. Chapter 13

"Ow, watch it!" Johnny snapped on the doctor that was tending to his wound on his back.

"Little bitch." The doctor said under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Middle stitch." The doctor lied.

"Oh, okay. Hey did you watch the event? I was pretty amazing." He said with satisfaction.

He thought he heard an angry mumbling from behind a curtain next to them.

"Nurse, please take my other patient someplace less, distressful." The doctor told his assistant.

The nurse went behind the curtain and wheeled out the other patient, who was laying down on a wheeled table. Laying down on that table was Reiko, with a large cast wrapped around his crotch section.

"Nice diaper pal." Johnny teased.

As he was wheeled out, Reiko silently flipped him off.

"He deserved it, after what he did to me. Ow!" Johnny complained.

"Pussy." The doctor whispered.

"Huh?"

"Lucy."

"Who's Lucy?"

Before the doctor could come up with another lie, Kitana walked into the room.

"Princess Kitana!" The doctor bowed his head low.

"Baby blue!" Johnny exclaimed with outstretched arms.

Laughing, Kitana sat in the chair next to Johnny.

"Please keep working on him." She told the doctor.

"Of course princess."

"So where's Liu?" Johnny asked.

"He is out somewhere with Sindel, but he told me to give you his regards. How are you feeling?" Kitana asked him.

"Come on honey, this is just a scratch."

"Here comes the peroxide." The doctor said suddenly.

"The what...aahh!" Johnny screamed.

Tears began to gather in his eyes, and his lip quivered, threatening to let out a pained whimper. Kitana tried not to laugh, but a soft and sweet giggle escaped from her hand covering her mouth.

"Just...a scratch." Johnny insisted.

"Johnny Cage, one of the toughest men I've ever met." Kitana said sarcastically.

"You know it!" Johnny said, not picking up on the harmless sarcasm.

"Liu told me that I had to give you something..." Kitana said.

She pulled his sunglasses from her sleeve. She opened them and placed them over his eyes.

"Thanks baby blue." Johnny said happily.

Kitana leaned in, and her full red lips kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Is that from you, or Liu?" Johnny joked.

Kitana closed her eyes and smiled while laughing to herself.

"Thank you Johnny, for everything." She told him.

She got up and left, and Johnny didn't let the view go by unnoticed.

"Liu is one lucky son of a bitch." He said.

Suddenly, Kitana popped her head back into the room. Johnny couldn't help blushing and smiling with guilt.

"Yes he is." She told him with a wink before leaving for good.

Johnny really thought he was made there for a second, and chuckled to himself because of Kitana's unexpectedly playful attitude.

"Pervert." The doctor whispered.

"What?"

"Invert." The doctor said.

Johnny turned his head from the strange man.

"Weirdo." Johnny whispered.

"What?" The doctor asked.

"Window!"

* * *

><p>"Push!" Bryant shouted.<p>

On his word, he and four other guards braced themselves against a huge 1000lb block of stone. On the other side of the block, Jax's fists smashed into the block in several strong punches.

"I see you are still angry about losing to Kano, Jax." Sub Zero told him.

"You think?" Jax said.

Bryant and the other guards kept on pushing against the stone block to prevent it from moving with every punch.

"There are other more, efficient, ways of clearing your head Jax." SUb Zero said.

"This way is more fun." Jax replied, taking a break.

Sub Zero took a starting position, and then started performing slow, deliberate movements not unlike Tai Chi.

"A troubled mind that focuses on healing will recover better than a troubled mind that unleashes itself on anything in sight."

Sub Zero sped up, now looking like he was sparring with an unseen opponent, and he even incorporated his powers, evident by the ice starting to cover his arms and legs.

"Yes sensei. Oh, hello Jade!" Jax intentionally said this louder than he needed to.

Sub Zero slipped on his own ice and hit the ground, hard. Jax grabbed him by his tunic and lifted him to his feet, patting him off.

"Nice focus." Jax whispered in his ear.

"If your're trying to beat up the rock Sub Zero, might I suggest not using your head?" Jade joked.

"I tried telling him." Jax added.

"Don't you have a boulder to fight?" Sub Zero asked Jax.

"Naw, I'm done for the day."

Bryant and the other guards gave a loud sigh and filed out quickly.

"I actually came to ask you something Jax." Jade said.

"I'm sure whatever you need, Sub Zero can help you out." Jax said.

"But I..." Sub Zero tried, but Jax already jogged away.

Despite many people working or walking around just a few yards away, an odd sense of privacy came over the two of them.

"So...you needed something?" Sub Zero asked.

"I wanted to ask Jax because he already did his part in the Olympiad, but I'm sure you can help me just as well."

"I would be happy to."

"Good. Meet me at the front gates in say, an hour?"

"Of course."

"Until then."

Sub Zero went back to performing his exercises. Once he was sure Jade was gone, he sprinted off to find Johnny.

* * *

><p>Eric jogged down the hall with his sheathed sword dangling from his arms, his helmet half off, and his laces were untied. He usually was with Mileena, but the guard that he had been trading shifts with all this time was sick, so Eric had to cover for him. He fixed his helmet and put his sword on his belt while still strapping down his chest armor. While running, he spotted one of Rain's competitors, Tanya, entering Rain's room. Curious, Eric quietly approached the door and turned his ear to it.<p>

"Have you done as I requested?" A man's voice asked, it sounded like Rain.

"Your plan has been set into motion Rain, when..." A woman's voice said, likely Tanya.

Eric listened closely. His eyes widened at the audacity of their intentions.

"Once that is done, only one more competition remains. After that, I will be King, and a full god." Rain boasted.

"Do you still intend to give Quan Chi his payment?" Tanya asked.

"I do. The sorcerer has been helpful, I would rather stay on good terms should I need his assistance again. And Kitana won't be able to bother me anymore once Quan Chi has her soul."

Eric had heard enough. He needed to report his findings to King Jerrod. He moved to run but tripped and fell. Then something invisible picked him up by his foot, dangling him in the air and hissing in his ear.

"Goddamn laces." Eric muttered before getting knocked out.

* * *

><p>Liu Kang had gone with Sindel into town not long after Johnny had defeated Reiko. Now he found himself in an Edenian Library, and he was looking through several history books. It was extraordinary; all these books recorded the history of a single continuous civilization that is tens of thousands of years old.<p>

"I've never seen anyone just casually read history books." Sindel told him.

"I've never seen this kind of historical recording. It's amazing."

"Do Earthrealmers not know their history?"

"Nothing like this. With all the wars and fallen empires throughout our history, civilizations have changed too many times to count. Our oldest continuous civilization doesn't even come close to Edenia."

"It's thanks to you that we can continue to make history." Sindel told him assuredly.

Despite the encouraging words, Liu only felt angrier and frustrated. He closed the book and pushed it away. The memory of his conversation with Jerrod not long ago angered him greatly.

"Apparently that still isn't enough."

"What?"

"Nothing Sindel, nothing. I...I need to go."

"Liu wait!"

Liu stomped out of the library and into the street. The sight that greeted him rocked him to his core. Rain, all over the wall. And another wall, and another. Three houses had a large banner depicting Rain hanging over the wall facing the street.

"Edenia is entering a new era, an era of prosperity and greatness!" A crier shouted to whoever listened, of which many did.

"The new royal couple will be bring us to our apex!"

Something fell on Liu, wrapping around him. He squirmed around in it, he was smothered and couldn't see. He found a way out and saw daylight again. Regaining his composure, he looked at what had fallen on him. He immediately lost his composure, his heart dropping into his gut. Another banner had fallen over the front of the library. This one depicted two people sitting in decorative thrones. One was Rain, mask and all. The other was Kitana, looking as beautiful as ever.

"All hail Rain! All hail Rain!" The crier incited the crowd to shout this.

"All hail Princess Kitana!" Someone added.

For a few moments people shouted these two sentences, until they just combined the two into an even more sickening line.

"Rain and Kitana! Rain and Kitana!"

* * *

><p>The walk towards their destination had been uncomfortably silent. Well, maybe Sub Zero was uncomfortable, Jade seemed completely content. He had hoped that the sunglasses that he had borrowed from Johnny would get her attention, they weren't even tinted. Sub Zero wasn't sure how much longer he could take it, so he decided to try and start something himself.<p>

"So where are we headed?" He asked her.

"A farm, the farmer there sent word that he needed assistance."

"We are going to pick crops?" Sub Zero attempted a joke.

"Not exactly..."

Jade reached behind her and pulled a scroll from out of nowhere, and handed it to Sub Zero. Sub Zero unrolled and read it.

"Problems with vermin?" He read aloud.

Jade just shrugged her shoulders. He gave her back the scroll and she reached behind her again, and then her hand was empty.

"How do you do that? I didn't see any pockets anywhere on you." Sub Zero said.

"Maybe you should pay more attention, take a better look?" Jade asked.

Sub Zero's mouth hung open under his mask. He wasn't brave enough to ask what she was suggesting, nor brave enough to actually look. After a few more minutes of walking they came upon farmland. The farm was small, a house and a barn. An old man waited for them outside.

"You the ones that are supposed to take care of my problem?" The farmer asked rudely.

"Yes sir, you sent a report that you had a vermin infestation?" Jade asked.

"Damn right I do, the pests are eating all my livestock!"

"Livestock? Don't you mean crops?" Sub Zero asked.

"No four eyes, I mean my animals are getting gobbled up left and right. It's in the barn."

Jade and Sub Zero approached the barn and opened the doors expectantly. A huge bluish creature, over ten feet tall and having three slightly glowing yellow eyes was chewing on what looked like a cow leg.

"That isn't a pest; that's an Oni!" Jade realized.

Moloch roared and charged at them. Sub Zero slammed the doors shut and froze them together, but Moloch burst through. Slivers of wood and shattered ice flew all over the place.

"Uh now look what you did four eyes!" The farmer yelled to Sub Zero.

"Sir I recommend you get somewhere safe!" Sub Zero advised.

"And I recommend you look behind you."

Sub Zero did so and was backhanded by Moloch, sending him tumbling over the ground. He recovered quickly, and could see that the glasses he had worn were shattered. He placed them in his pocket and jumped to his feet.

"Alright you big ugly brute, come on!" Sub Zero challenged.

Moloch raised his fist and brought it down on Sub Zero. However, Sub Zero had created an ice clone in his place, and Moloch's fist froze to the ground after crushing it. The Oni roared in pain and anger while trying to pull his hand free. Sub Zero ran up his frozen arm and jumped from it, twisting his hips and kneeing Moloch in the face. Moloch pulled his hand free as the blow connected, and took Sub Zero by surprise and smashed him into the ground. Moloch raised his foot and was about to crush him until Jade's razorang spun into his third eye, gouging it out. Moloch stumbled backward, reaching for his wound and finding the one responsible.

"Don't even think about it!" Jade said with her staff extended.

Moloch ran at her on all fours. Jade ran at him with her staff pointed in front of her, and when they were just a few feet from each other she planted the staff in the ground, vaulting over Moloch and landing on his back. She climbed to his shoulders and placed her staff across his neck, chocking him. Moloch thrashed around like a bull, but he couldn't shake Jade off. He then had a pang of intelligence, a rarity for him. He stood up straight and tilted backwards. Jade didn't realize until it was too late.

"Oh crap..." She managed to say before Moloch fell on top of her.

Moloch laughed deeply as he rolled off of her. Snarling, he picked her up and brought her head to his. He opened his mouth wide, his putrid breath assaulting her nostrils. Before her head entered his mouth however, his lips were frozen together. Moloch dropped her and Sub Zero, sliding on a trail of ice, caught her.

"Thanks." Jade told him.

"Don't mention it. Excuse me." Sub Zero said.

He turned to Moloch and gathered ice in his hands. Focusing, he fired a continuous stream of ice at Moloch. The Oni ran towards him, then walked, and finally was slowed to a crawl as his entire body froze solid. Only his head remained unfrozen, roaring.

"Oh shut up." Sub Zero said.

The ninja uppercutted Moloch's head off his frozen, brittle neck, the body still standing as if nothing happened.

"You okay?" Sub Zero asked Jade.

"Better than you." Jade said.

She ran a finger over a cut on his eye. Sub Zero pulled the shattered glasses out of his pocket and laughed at himself.

"Lin Kuei do not wear sunglasses. I should have taken my own advise."

"Scars are a better accessory." Jade said.

"You think so." Sub Zero asked rhetorically.

"Absolutely."

Another silence came between them, but this one was more, pleasurable.

"Let's go back to town, I owe you." Jade said.

"I owed you." Sub Zero said.

"So you'll owe me again. We will keep on owing each other until we get tired of one another's company."

"That will take a long time to happen." Sub Zero assured.

They both started walking away. The farmer inspected his damaged barn and new headless monster statue.

"What the hell?" The farmer protested.

* * *

><p>Kitana and Mileena sat together at a table outside an expensive restaurant. Mileena had her feet up on the table, and she balanced precariously on the back legs of her chair. Kitana sat hunched over, her head propped up by her hand.<p>

"Why did you drag me to this boring place?" Mileena asked.

"I needed to be out of the palace and away from that arena for awhile. And I didn't drag you anywhere, you didn't have anyone to hang out with so you followed me."

"You were walking the same way as I was." Mileena lied.

"Yeah, sure." Kitana stated.

Things were awkwardly quiet between them. The two sisters still hadn't quite developed the closest of bonds, but this was uncomfortable for both of them.

"So...how's Liu?" Mileena asked.

"Why Mileena, are you trying to make small talk?" Kitana mocked.

"Yes, and you are making it damn hard. Answer the question before I lose interest."

"Liu's, stressed."

"Yeah well no shit, I can read that on both of you."

"I think he is worried to, so am I."

"You losing faith?"

"No, but I can't be too sure right now. Sindel...mom suggested something that really set me off."

"What?"

"She basically told me that I should try to get used to the idea that I will be married to Rain instead of Liu, maybe even try to enjoy it."

"Well it is a reasonable suggestion, don't you think?"

Kitana frowned at her, the way an older sibling would do when a younger one asked a stupid question.

"How would you feel if you were told to have a different boyfriend other than Eric?" Kitana asked.

"Nothing, because he isn't my boyfriend...why does he say he is? Does he seem like he wants to be?" Mileena asked, sounding suddenly hopeful.

"What the hell!" Kitana yelled suddenly.

She abruptly stood up, knocking the table a little and sending Mileena toppling over.

"What?" Mileena asked, annoyed.

Kitana hopped over the small fence into the street. A banner depicting herself and Rain was draped over someone's house. Crowds of people gathered around the base of the banner, where a man was shouting lines like 'All hail Rain' and 'All hail Kitana'. Kitana pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"What is all this?" Kitana asked.

"This is the future!" The crier said without turning to her.

"This is foolishness!" Kitana retorted.

"Who are you to say so?" The crier turned to her, and the color drained from his face.

"Princess Kitana." Kitana said.

"Oh I beg your pardon princess, but the word of our new monarchs must be spread throughout Edenia and revered!"

"Your new monarchs are yet to be decided. Tear this down." Kitana demanded.

"But princess.."

Mileena snarled and tore the banner down from the ground.

"Everybody clear out!" Mileena shouted.

The crowds immediately dispersed, fearful of the princess's retribution and Mileena's wrath. The larger than life faces of herself and Rain stared back at Kitana, a picture of her possible future.

* * *

><p>Jade had taken Sub Zero to a place he never expected; a pub. Men and women sang, shouted, and belched as they drank and ate with friends and family. If he had to guess, he and Jade were the most sober people in the place, even more so than the bartender. Jade had ordered them both a pint of Edenian ale. Jade had almost finished hers, Sub Zero hadn't even touched his.<p>

"You know, I think you need to remove your mask to drink it." Jade told him with a laugh.

"This isn't what I expected you to enjoy." Sub Zero said.

"Being the general of an army exposes you to some new walks of life, and drinks!" She took another swig.

Sub Zero reluctantly removed his mask, something he rarely did in public. Jade noticed his reluctance, and she also noticed that he was handsome. A strong, and also wizened face. Sub Zero picked up his pint and brought it to his lips. He tilted his head back and let it pour into his mouth. His mouth filled but he had trouble swallowing, his cheeks inflated like a balloon. Jade covered her mouth to stop her laughter from embarrassing him. Sub Zero forced the ale down, coughing.

"How was that?" Jade asked.

"For my first drink, pretty rough." Sub Zero told her.

"This is your first drink?"

"Lin Kuei don't drink alcohol."

"Just like they don't wear glasses?" She asked, picking on him.

"You liked the glasses." Sub Zero told her with a smile.

Jade smiled at him. She knew the meaning of his words; he tried something new because she liked it.

"And apparently you like drinking...and your glass is empty." Sub Zero said.

He leaned closer to her and offered her his glass. She leaned in closer as well, but gently moved away the glass.

"I see some right, there..." She said softly, her head tilting as his did the same.

Sub Zero's heart was in his ears. He could smell her, feel her breath on his lips, see the coldness of his breath make mist against the warmth of hers...

"All hail Rain!" A woman shouted.

**Whhrrrpppp!**

****The both of them turned to the woman that was standing on a table, inciting the people in the pub. She wore robes and a veil covering her face, masking her identity.

"Rain will usher in a new era of wealth, prosperity, and power for Edenia."

"Rain is an egomaniac that swoons for himself in the mirror!" Jade said.

The pub was divided now between the mysterious woman and those that wished for Rain to win and Jade and those who wished for the opposite.

"That Earthrealm monk is unfit and unworthy to be Edenia's ruler. Kitana herself is the same!" The mysterious woman shouted.

"You watch your tongue!" Jade said, suddenly aggressive.

"Kitana is a traitor to Edenia, and so are you! The both of you served Shao Kahn! I bet Kitana would take up Kahn's conquests if given the chance!"

Jade punched the woman in the face, sending her falling over a table and knocking over half empty glasses.

"Jade!" Sub Zero said.

The woman was laughing from the ground, loudly, with satisfaction. Jade grabbed the woman by her collar and lifted her to her feet.

"You think that was funny?" Jade asked angrily.

"Getbackinthecar!"

A white flash blinded everyone for a moment, and when their sight returned, Raiden stood before them.

"What are you doing here Raiden?" Jade asked.

Raiden looked at her with sorry eyes.

"Oh Jade..." The thunder god said.

"What?" Jade asked, confused.

"You fool!" The woman said.

She removed her veil to reveal herself as Tanya!

"Oh no..." Sub Zero whispered.

"Wait, wait!" Jade pleaded to Raiden.

"Raiden, the rules are that a member of one team cannot harm that of another, is it not?" Tanya asked, though it was rhetorical.

Electricity zapped between Raiden's eyes in anger. He knew full well what she had done, but his hands were tied.

"Jade, you have broken the rules by attacking a member of the opposing team. As per the rules, you are disqualified from the Olympiad, and this counts as a victory for Rain."

* * *

><p><em>I wasn't being lazy this chapter, I wanted to do something different that would shake things up. To recap, Mileena beat Reptile, Jax lost to Kano, Johnny beat Reiko, and Jade has 'lost' to Tanya. That means the score is tied up, which means that one more competition remains between Scorpion and Sub Zero. My two favorite characters, what a coincidence. Read, review, suggest, and above all enjoy.<em>


	14. Chapter 14

"Aw yeah." Liu purred.

He sank down more into his bath, now only his nose and eyes were above the water. After witnessing mobs of Edenians praise Rain's name, alongside Kitana's, as the new monarch of this realm, well, he needed some R&R. Sindel had some servants run him a bath. He had never been treated so well. The water smelt heavenly, like he was bathing in a garden. The servants had emptied several bottles of bath oils into the water, and a thick layer of bubbles rested on top of the water. Perhaps most unexpected of all, and at the same time most sensational, was the face cream spread on his face and the cucumber slices on his eye. The cream was greenish, and smelt vaguely of fruit. To quote what the servant that had suggested this said, 'Baby this gonna make your skin shine!'. He wasn't sure about that, but it did feel good.

"Oh Alfonse, you are amazing." Liu whispered.

For what felt like hours he soaked himself. He almost felt guilty for having such a lavishing time, almost! Who was he kidding? He was loving this, his whole body was zinging. Now that he thought about it, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Curiously, he lifted one the cucumbers off his eye and looked around. He noticed an aura of electricity outlining his body.

"What the..." He began while reaching for his towel.

Suddenly, white light flashed in his eyes, and he felt a surge of energy rush through him. He heard a thunderclap, inside?

"Raiden, I appreciate you not teleporting right on top of me this time, but I was in the middle of a bath."

He peeled the cucumbers off of his eyes and was three things. One, he was startled to find that Raiden hadn't teleported to him, the thunder god had teleported Liu to him! Second, he was worried because Raiden was looking at him apologetically, Sub Zero was holding Jade back because she looked like she was trying to tear Tanya apart...wait Tanya? He heard chuckling, an arrogant and self satisfied chuckle that could belong to only one supreme douche bag. Turning, Liu found Rain standing just to the left of him, with the remains of the electrical discharge from Raiden's teleportation just starting to dissipate. He noticed Rain look him up and down, and the demi god was full on laughing now. Finally, third, Liu was embarrassed because he was standing in a crowded pub in nothing but a damp towel, and he still had the greenish skin cream all over his face.

"I think you interrupted Liu Kang's make up time Raiden." Rain joked.

Raiden ignored Rain's comment.

"Liu, I have some bad news." Raiden told him.

Liu took another look at his situation, and felt suddenly jaded.

"What is it?" Liu asked.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Jade threatened loudly to Tanya, who stood just out of arm's length of the raging Edenian.

"Enough Jade!" Sub Zero pleaded.

The Lin Kuei had his arms wrapped around Jade's waist, firmly holding her in place. He admitted that it was much more difficult to hold her back than he thought; the woman was much stronger than she looked, and she looked rather strong already. As he continued to pull her back whenever she tried to pull away, his physical and mental discipline was pushed to the limit to keep himself 'contained', as her behind bounced repeatedly into his pelvis.

"Raiden, what happened?" Liu asked.

"Jade..."

"Our esteemed general," Rain suddenly interjected, "while usually much more classy than this, has assaulted one of my competitors, thus breaking the rules of the Olympiad and disqualifying herself. In lamest terms, our teams are tied up."

Liu thought that nothing could affect him right now, he was more than half naked in a public place right now after all, but the news rocked him. He looked to Raiden as if he needed the god's confirmation of what he just heard.

"I'm afraid he is telling the truth Liu." Raiden told him sadly.

Tanya came to stand by Rain, Jade turning after her like a gun aiming at a moving target.

"I'm disappointed in you Jade, although I suppose I can't blame you. Spending so much time with the rabble can be detrimental to anyone's character." Rain stated.

Tanya bore a sly smile, and even though he wore his purple mask, Liu could tell Rain had as well. Liu knew that this was no accident; despite her sharp tongue he knew Jade was one of the last people he knew that would just lose her temper. They had baited her, he didn't know how and he didn't care. Rain had looked right at him when he used the term 'rabble', he spoke with such an air of superiority that it infuriated him to no end. Liu stomped towards the larger man until he was right in his face; looking about as intimidating as a man wearing face cream and a bath towel could ever hope to look.

"You really are a piece of work Rain." Liu told him hatefully.

"Aren't I?" Rain stated smugly, deliberately twisting Liu's words.

This only fuelled Liu's anger.

"The way you talk to others, the way you see people as beneath you in every way, using dirty underhanded tricks to get your way, you really think you are untouchable don't you?"

Rain leaned down so that he was at eye level with Liu, meeting the monk's stare of loathe and disgust with one of his own.

"Do you think you can prove otherwise?" Raid asked lowly.

Liu clenched his fist tightly. He could feel Rain's heat, he was so close, it would be so satisfying, and so easy...

"Liu!" Sub Zero said gruffly.

Liu struggled to pull his eyes off of Rain. Sub Zero still held Jade back, and Jade still vented her seemingly endless rage.

"You are a snake! A snake Tanya!" Jade ranted.

A tear flew off of he face as she thrashed about, a tear of anger and sadness. Liu Kang and Sub Zero both noticed it.

"It's not over yet Liu Kang." Sub Zero told him, and it sounded more like a promise.

Liu mentally kicked himself; Rain had tried baiting him and almost made him commit the same mistake Jade had. He had almost damned himself.

"It seems not all Earthrealmers are idiotic fools." Rain whispered in his ear.

Suddenly, Rain grabbed Liu's towel and yanked it off, exposing him to the whole crowd of people. He heard several gasps, some sharp whistles, a lot of whispering, and a few bouts of ego shattering laughter. All he could do was cover his manhood and hope that he was invisible. Judging by the continued gasps, whistles, whispers, and laughs, hoping for the latter was futile.

"Anytime now Raiden!" Liu shouted.

"Oh, right, my apologies."

Electricity gathered around Liu, Sub Zero, Jade, Tanya, and Rain. In an instant, all five were teleported back to the palace, though each faction was in a different area of course. Liu and company were sent back to the bathroom that Liu had been taken from. The bath still looked as welcoming as ever, but he just couldn't bring himself to go in. Sub Zero let Jade go after she finally calmed down, or rather wasn't readily trying to murder someone. Both of them panted heavily.

"Thank you for that Sub Zero." Jade said.

Sub Zero merely nodded.

"I'm so sorry Liu." Jade whispered.

Liu put an arm around her and pulled her close.

"Don't you dare be sorry, Rain's scared and thats why he resorted to this."

"Liu, your clothes?" Jade reminded him.

Liu realized that he was dangerously close to pushing his naked junk up against he leg, and he swiftly pulled away and ran behind a change wall to get his pants on. Jade rubbed her face with both hands, letting out a heavy sigh and moved to leave. Sub Zero grabbed her forearm, stopping her.

"Jade, do you want to talk or, well can I do anything?" He asked.

He remembered how close they had become just moments before it all went to hell. Jade didn't look back at him, she just moved his hand off her arm.

"No Sub Zero. This is my mistake, I need to bare it."

"You can't carry everything yourself." Sub Zero said quietly.

Jade lingered by the door for a moment, he thought she had heard him. Lingering for a moment longer, she left. Just as she did, Liu came back out with pants on thankfully.

"I meant what I said; Rain is scared." Liu told Sub Zero.

"He should be." Sub Zero said forebodingly.

Sub Zero made his way to the door so he could leave, stopping to say one more thing.

"I'll be waiting at the arena, I'll see you there when it's time to end this." He said before leaving.

Silently, Liu nodded, and noticed that he had trouble moving his face. Suddenly, Sub Zero popped his head back in.

"And you'll want to wash that off before it hardens, otherwise we'll need to take a chisel to your face."

Liu poked the face cream and found it hard as a rock. His face was petrified.

_Dammit Alfonse._

* * *

><p>Deep underground beneath the palace, down a pair of stairs nobody used, through a pair of rotten wooden doors, in a chamber filled with the foul fumes of constant acid corrosion, Eric dangled from a length of chain. After having overheard the conversation between Rain and Tanya, he was knocked unconscious by someone invisible, and hissing like a snake. He had been here for almost a day, bound and gagged while hanging precariously over a pool of bubbling acid. He had stopped squirming awhile ago, he was too dehydrated and hungry to continue. Worst of all, he had to pee. Really bad. He looked down to Kano, he was sitting in a chair half asleep.<p>

"I niid ta gu ta tee bahoon." Eric mumbled.

Kano didn't stir.

"I niid ta gu ta tee bahoon!"

Kano still just sat there.

"Hee ahhnole, I niid ta tek a pith!"

"Huh, what? What?" Kano said suddenly, almost jumping of his chair.

"I niid ta goo ta tee bahoon."

"What? I can't understand you mate, speak clearly." Kano said while laughing cruelly.

Eric tried making unintelligible pleas, but these only amused Kano.

"I don't know what you are saying, try again!"

Kano shot a laser beam from his cybernetic eye, aiming just to the left of the chain suspending Eric over the pools of acid. Eric let out a muffled scream of fear.

"Come again?" Kano said.

He fired another laser, again deliberately missing the chain, though just barely. Eric was swinging to and fro, helpless and screaming past the gag.

"Why don't you stop hanging there like a worm on a hook and tell me what you want?"

Kano fired another laser beam, but this time it met an invisible wall, and invisible hissing wall?

"What the hell Kano?" Reptile snapped as he made himself visible again.

"I have told you to stop running around while invisible you know. Accidents can happen." Kano said with feigned concern.

Reptile jumped off of the wall he clung to and grabbed hold of Eric's chain. He slid down the metal rings until he was just above Eric, who was shaking half from fear and half because his bladder was about to burst.

"What are you mumbling about?" Reptile asked.

"I...niid ta gu ta tee bahoon."

Reptile pulled the gag out of Eric's mouth.

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"So hold it." Reptile told him simply.

"I've been holding it all day!"

"Fine then, go."

"What do you mean, go?"

"I mean exactly that."

"But I'm, well look at me!"

Reptile sighed heavily and then reached for Eric's crotch.

"Hey, hey hey what are you doing?"

Reptile undid his trousers so that they opened.

"Now, you can go." Reptile told him.

Thirty seconds, thirty terribly awkward seconds passed by with Reptile and Kano staring at Eric expectantly, with no results. Neither of them really thought about how weird that was.

"We're not gonna aim it for you mate, if thats what you're waiting for." Kano said.

"I can't go with you watching!" Eric protested.

"What are you twelve?" Kano asked.

"No, but when I was twelve my brother walked in on my while I was going and he had a mug of hot coffee and..."

"Stop! Stop I don't want to hear it. Turn him around Reptile." Kano said with urgency.

Reptile spun Eric around so that he faced away from them. After a few more seconds, Kano and Reptile heard a steady stream pour into the pool of acid, followed by the hiss of the urine being dissolved by the corrosive liquid.

"So, what do you guys," Eric began.

"Are you serious?" Reptile asked.

"What?"

"This isn't a locker room or something, hurry up and finish."

The three men waited in silence for a few more seconds before the sound of dissolving urine ceased. Reptile turned Eric back around, but didn't care enough to do his pants back up.

"Listen I'm really hungry. Do you two have anything to eat?"

Reptile shoved the gag back into Eric's mouth deeper than he really needed to.

"Eat that."

Reptile jumped from the chain, causing Eric to sway heavily around. He squirmed so much that his pants, being undone, now fell down to his knees, and revealed his pink boxers! Below, Reptile snickered alongside Kano, who was barely able to stand while laughing.

"Pink undies? What are you fruity?" Kano asked Eric mockingly.

"Lhere wus a pik suk in ma loondy! (There was a pink sock in my laundry!" Eric explained.

"I tell you Reptile, you aren't much of a kidnapper. You should've let him pee himself like a child." Kano told Reptile.

The saurian stared up at Eric the same way a hunter looks at freshly caught prey.

"I don't want my meal soiled." The saurian stated, removing his mask so his tongue licking between his teeth could be seen.

Eric sighed fearfully, and felt the need to relieve himself again. He didn't though, having pink underpants was bad enough, he didn't want to leave a brown stain in them.

* * *

><p>Sitting in her room, Kitana lightly brushed her jet black and silky hair. It was the single most trifling aspect of her appearance to maintain. She sometimes considered cutting it back to shoulder length, like how she had kept it when she until she was two thousand years old, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. This was her image, Kitana, Princess Kitana, and in a matter of hours, Kitana the wife.<p>

She put the brush aside and picked up her jeweled tiara, sliding it into her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror. Straightening her back, widening her shoulders, and hardening her face, she tried to look as regal as possible. The image of those banners that some of the villagers had raised came to mind, but this deflated her rather than inspired her.

Queen Kitana, alongside King Rain. The news that Jade had gotten herself disqualified spread like wildfire, and burned just as hot. Kitana had tried to console Jade, but her best friend seemed dead set on feeling guilty. Kitana herself would never think less of Jade for her actions, but she couldn't kick this feeling of bitterness she had. So close, but now so far. One more challenge remained, the winner would decide who Kitana would be married to. The Olympiad had turned out like a predictable movie; this team wins, the other wins, the first team wins again, then the other again. Usually in those movies the heroes would just barely come out as winners, but she was in far too pessimistic a mood to be that hopeful.

She heard a knock on her door and, checking herself once more in the mirror, got up to answer it. It must be Liu coming to get here for the final challenge. When she opened the door she found, with no small amount of surprise or disappointment , Rain.

"Greetings princess, my you look even more beautiful than usual."

"You flatter me, Rain." Kitana said halfheartedly.

"The fifth and final challenge is about to come underway, and I thought it would be only proper if I escorted you there, my fiancé." Rain offered his hand.

"You're too kind." Kitana said as she swiftly moved by him.

Rain lingered momentarily with a wounded ego, clutching his offered hand into a rock hard fist. He walked beside her, working hard to keep his voice composed instead of hostile.

"It's great, isn't it? This ridiculous farce is finally coming to an end." Rain told her.

"I guess it is."

"It's just as well too, I fear the villagers may start rioting and fighting if this lasted much longer."

"Why do you figure that?"

"Because all those fools that hope for Liu Kang's victory are sure to cause trouble."

"I've only seen rowdiness from the ones that hang your pictures everywhere they can."

"Well they wish to show their devotion to their soon to be king and queen."

"Possible king and queen." Kitana reminded.

Rain snickered, and it was an infuriating sound.

"So sure of yourself, are you?" Kitana asked in a confrontational tone.

"I'll admit princess that the monk gave an admirable effort, but he shall not be king of Edenia. He can't be he, well he, well I'm sure you know."

"I don't think I do, enlighten me." Kitana suddenly stopped and turned to him.

Rain was taken back by her seriousness, and angered by her tone.

"He is not royalty, not here or in his realm of dirt. He does not have a mind for politics, does not know how to rule over thousands or millions of people."

"They're hundreds of people outside these walls who think otherwise."

"Fools, all of them. I can understand them though, the monk gives them a sense of comfort. They must be intimidated by a god king with a military career."

"A demi god king." Kitana reminded snidely.

Rain's expression turned irate.

"I have tried to understand why you insist on being with that monk princess, but the reason still alludes me. Tell me, why?"

Kitana just shook her head at him; the way he spoke about others, the way he treated others, how he threatened Mileena, that he tried to kill Liu. She didn't care anymore that they shared a good day together, or that her father thought that he was better choice than Liu. She was done with him.

"Thats for me to know, and you to never find out. I don't think you are capable of understanding it anyway Rain."

She turned on her heel and started walking again, and she noticed that Rain wasn't following her anymore. That look of regality that she had tried to wear in her room now fell over her like a blanket. Rain silent seethed with rage. Her audacity was enough to make him form water bubbles in his hand. He shook his head clear and let the bubbles drip down onto the ground as drops of water.

_When this is over, and Quan Chi is playing with your soul, __then I guess I never will know. And I won't care._

"Lord Rain, do you need help?" A servant came behind him and asked.

"What? No, why would I?"

The servant pointed to the puddle that he was standing in.

"It's okay sir, we all have accidents." The servant told him.

"What the hell are you thinking? I didn't pee..."

"I can get you some new underpants sir."

Rain lost his temper kicked the servant with his patented super roundhouse, sending the man flying down to the other end of the hall.

* * *

><p>Liu walked briskly towards the outlet to the arena dressed in his finest clothing. He felt it necessary; one way or another this was the end. He had never been much for prayer; being on a first name basis with a real life god took most of the magic out of it. That and after seeing Raiden win a hot dog eating contest against a six hundred pound sumo wrestler, well, the mystique of the gods was forever ruined for him. So instead of praying, he had been hoping really, really, really hard that he was going to be walking out of that arena as a winner. Kingship be damned, he just wanted to be with Kitana. That's all he ever wanted, but Rain just had to take things too far.<p>

To his disappointment, Jerrod and Sindel awaited him by the outlet, a first. Sindel looked as if she was trying to stay positive, and struggling. Jerrod, well Ermac's wrappings made his face almost unreadable. From his body language, he looked even more distanced than usual.

"Hello Liu." Sindel said warmly.

Liu merely nodded to her, really unsure of what to say. Sindel nudged Jerrod in Ermac's ribs.

"So this is it then."

She nudged him again.

"I mean, well it's all over."

She elbowed him hard enough to wind him.

"...I know it has been tough, Liu, but for what its worth...good luck." Jerrod took a small step to the side in case Sindel elbowed him again.

Liu couldn't get over what Jerrod had said to him a few days ago, but after all he did to try and get on his good side, he wasn't about to ruin that forever. Liu offered his hand, and in a surprisingly gratifying gesture, Jerrod shook it.

"Whichever way this goes, good luck." Liu told him.

Jerrod was confused by the statement, but Liu was already walking out to the arena.

Exiting out of the short tunnel, the bright Edenian sun glistened off his black and orange outfit, and the voices of hundreds of spectators poured into his ears. It had all become somewhat familiar; the clear skies, the misleading arena platform that was much more complex that it looked, the spectators crammed into the stands that now had clear lines drawn between them. Now though, he found his whole team assembled here; the cocky but capable actor, the fiery noble, the mechanized commando, and the ferocious lunatic. Johnny, Jade, Jax, and Mileena greeted him with the same intensity he had, they clearly felt similarly to how he did. He noticed another unusual thing; the air had a biting cold to it. He easily deduced the reason when he noticed Sub Zero standing at the top of the platform with Kitana.

Liu climbed the steps to join the two of them, and upon reaching the top he heard some of the spectators start talking more excitedly, and it rapidly spread.

"Hey." Liu said to Kitana, taking her hand.

"Hey." She told him, half shrugging, half smiling, half cringing.

"Yeah." Liu said empathetically.

"Hey!" Sub Zero said to them gruffly.

He came off as almost hostile, turning to them and looking intense. He then put his fist to his chest, a Lin Kuei custom, and nodded to each of them.

"The Lin Kuei do not accept failure." He told them in both a strong and softer tone.

"Your damn right they don't!" Liu said enthusiastically, raising his hand for a high five.

Sub Zero just looked at his hand, and at Liu's ridiculous smile. He also glanced at Kitana, who just chuckled and shrugged at him.

"Lin Kuei do not high five..."

"Come on..." Liu persisted.

Sub Zero grunted happily and did so.

"I guess they do now." Sub Zero said.

Suddenly, the roars from the crowd picked up. Coming in from the other end of arena platform, a twister of water came blowing in. It remained for a moment, and then suddenly Tanya came flying out of it, landing on her head, and when the twister calmed, Rain stood in it's place. He turned to the spectators in the stands and raised his fist like a conductor, and the people raised their voices like an orchestra.

"Rain! Rain! Rain! Rain!" A vast majority of the spectators cheered.

Rain turned to look at Liu Kang and Kitana, he looked like he had already won in his mind. Liu noticed lightning in the sky. The day was clear of any storm clouds, so the lightning could only mean one thing...

"Not again!" Liu shouted, closing his eyes and covering his head.

He heard the lightning strike, but he didn't feel the painful zap, nor the weight of Raiden on top of him. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and moved his hands. Where Rain once stood, he now lay on his back, with Raiden standing on top of him.

"I have arrived!" Raiden shouted out.

"Oh, I beg your pardon Rain." Raiden said.

"Don't...worry...about it." Rain said with seething anger.

Raiden gave Liu a smile and wink, and Liu nodded gratefully.

"Spectators, competitors, this is the moment you've all been waiting for! Both teams have, amazingly..." Raiden said so sarcastically, "...won an equal number of challenges. That means that it will come down to a fifth and final challenge, and dare I say, the most spectacular. Both competitors, get over..."

A fireball erupted from the ground right next to Raiden, and Scorpion materialized out of the flame. His white eyes stared daggers at Raiden, daring him to finish his sentence. The ninja didn't say anything, the constant sound of a crackling fire said it all. Raiden gulped down a lump in his throat and teleported away to the center of the stage.

"Both competitors please step forward." He said meekly.

"Well, here it goes. You two may want to move, this might get ugly." Sub Zero told Liu Kang and Kitana.

They did as he said and moved to the lower level. Sub Zero stretched his arms, cracked his neck and knuckles, and started walking forward.

"Sub Zero."

Sub Zero stopped and turned to find Jade standing where Kitana and Liu were a moment ago. She was like the air in how quietly she moved. Hot.

"Um, yes Jade?"

"I just wanted to tell you good luck...and to take care of yourself. Liu and Kitana are relying on you, as am I." She extended her hand to him for a handshake.

A handshake? How ironic it was that he found the notion of giving a high five to Liu Kang hard to swallow, but Jade just wanting to shake his hand came off as too cold for him. Ironic indeed. He wasn't about to insult her however, and so he returned the handshake.

"Thank you Jade...I,"

Jade suddenly looked back like she was checking to see if someone was there, there wasn't and then with her incredible speed she gripped his hand and pulled him closer to her. As she did that, she used her free hand to pull his mask down and then she kissed him, passionately. Sub Zero's eyes widened, she was french kissing him! She pulled her tongue out of his mouth and then slipped his mask back and moved off of him. The whole thing only lasted about five seconds, albeit five glorious seconds, and no one else seemed to have notice.

"Seriously, take care of yourself. That's an order." Jade told him as she walked away.

He was too awe struck to even take advantage of the view of her walking away. Okay, maybe not that awe struck. He channeled his cold energy inward, making a cooling sensation travel down his torso to his pelvic area so that things calmed down there.

_Lin Kuei do not, do that. They are damn well going to start though._ Sub Zero thought.

With renewed drive, Sub Zero turned and started walking towards the centre, as was Scorpion. The spectators hushed, with the exception of excited whispers, as well as 'ooohs' and 'aaaaahs'. The air around Sub Zero was heavy with a frosty mist, and the air around Scorpion was warped and obscured the view behind him because of the heat. Both stood tall, each step a challenge to the other, daring them to come closer. Both would come closer still, and the ever thinning space between them would tremble if it could. This was a rivalry that was never ending, pure in its absoluteness. Nothing could undermine this moment...

"Yeah Sub Zero, you can do this! Rip his fake face off and fuck that skull up!" Johnny cheered.

**Whhrrrp!**

A mass shuffling of feet and turning heads could be heard as all the spectators shifted in their seats to glare at Johnny Cage. Raiden, Kitana, and Liu Kang all face palmed. Sub Zero looked over his shoulder and gave Johnny a withering look, and Scorpion tilted to the side so he could look at Johnny with shock and irritation.

"Wait! I didn't mean it like that, Sub Zero do not do that!" Johnny said before Jax clasped a metal hand over the actors mouth.

"Smooth man, real smooth." Jax told him sarcastically.

"Anyway, both of you pay attention." Raiden told Sub Zero and Scorpion.

At their feet, a circular hole opened in one of the floor panels. Out of it, a metal sphere levitated out of it. Raiden lifted his hand over it and let his electric energy pour into it, making the metal charge with electricity. The sphere then separated into three wedge shapes, each one hovering and having electricity arcing off of them.

"The two of you will be racing to acquire these pieces and reassemble the sphere."

Raiden opened three portals and each piece went through a different one, closing the portals behind them.

"I get the feeling there is more to it than what you are telling us." Scorpion told Raiden suspiciously.

"Maybe, but that would be telling. Here is the first portal you must go through, good luck."

Another portal, a man sized one this time, opened before them. Scorpion moved to step through it, as did Sub Zero at the same time. They brushed shoulders, stared at each other, and then both tried to rush in first. Both men were stuck just centimetres from stepping through the portal, shoulder to shoulder, stubbornly trying to push one another away.

"We are both going the same way." Sub Zero grunted.

"I know, so step aside." Scorpion demanded.

"I was going first!" Sub Zero protested.

"The hell you were, I took the first step!" Scorpion said.

"Move!"

"You move!"

Raiden rolled his eyes at the two grown men acting like children. He turned his staff horizontally and shoved Scorpion and Sub Zero with it.

"Hey!" Both of them exclaimed before they fell through the portal.

"Now that thats over with, lets see where our competitors have ended up!" Raiden shouted to thunderous applause.

He shot lighting bolts from his hands and they formed into the lightning screens that had been used during the competition between Reiko and Johnny. Instead of the storm ridden skies surrounding the massive Sky Temple, all that showed was snow.

* * *

><p>Scorpion pulled his head out of the snow pile he had landed in. The challenge had just started and he was already irritated by it. He didn't even like the rain or swimming; he absolutely hated snow. Looking around, he put his ninja training from years ago to use; taking in his surroundings, assessing any immediate threats...where was Sub Zero? He listened for any crunch of snow to reveal the Lin Kuei's movements, but heard nothing. Satisfied that he was alone, Scorpion got his bearings. He noticed that he was near the base a hill, a rather steep hill. Straining his eyes, he could make out what looked to be lightning discharging up the hill. After proclaiming his hatred for snow again, he started the his ascent.<p>

"How high can it be?" He asked himself.

**2 Hours Later**

Evidently it could be very high. Scorpion was more than knee deep in snow and he had left twin trails in the snow. At this point he couldn't even lift his feet out when he stepped, rather he just dragged himself through it. He had seriously misjudged the distance he needed to climb to reach the piece of the sphere, the foot long icicles hanging from his shoulder guards were like literal bookmarks showcasing how long he had been going. His clothes were drenched, and now started to freeze over, making each movement harder. Worst off all, the relentless chattering! For the better part of his whole climb he had been hearing this unrelenting and absolutely infuriating chattering noise, and it was working on his last nerve. It sounded like how skeletons would jangle in old cartoons...Scorpion stopped in his tracks and gripped his jaw with his hand, and the chattering ceased immediately. He released his jaw and he heard the chattering again. If there was any humour in the realization he just made, he wanted none of it. He actually contemplated dislocating his own jaw so that the chattering ceased, but before he could come to a decision, a snowball blinded him. He slowly wiped it off his face, and like an eraser the cold snow removed his almost perpetually angry expression to reveal, well a murderous expression.

"Oh...hell no." Scorpion said dangerously, turning to the source of the snowball.

"You're a little underdressed for the weather, hothead." Sub Zero mocked him from several feet up the hill, holding a freshly made snowball.

"You don't know what you are getting yourself into Sub Zero, so put the.." Scorpion was cut off by another snowball.

"Enlighten me." Sub Zero challenged.

Bellowing angrily, Scorpion thrusted his palm forward, intending to throw he spear and impale Sub Zero on it. However, nothing happened. He thrusted his palm again, again, again, each time barking angrier and louder.

"Having some trouble?" Sub Zero asked smugly.

Scorpion checked what the problem was and found his spear and chain all frozen together, which were in turn frozen to his gauntlet.

"Dammit!" He cursed.

Sub Zero turned his attention to the piece of the sphere up above.

"Watch your step." He told Scorpion before he started running up the hill.

Scorpion gave up on his spear and sprinted up the hill, or rather he started to bulldoze through the snow with hard headedness alone. He didn't get very far before he slipped and fell. He got up and tried again, but he just slipped again. Scorpion shoved snow away and found that he was trying to climb of a sheet of ice. This ice however was too, perfect, to be natural. He noticed that Sub Zero had stopped and was looking down on him with his arms crossed.

"I told you." The blue ninja said.

Growling, Scorpion pulled his swords from his back and stabbed them into the ice, then pulled one out after the other and use them as climbing hooks.

"How resourceful, but I wouldn't recommend that." Sub Zero said.

"Yeah I bet you wouldn't."

Scorpion plunged one of his swords into the ice again and heard a sharp crack. He looked at the ice and saw a rapidly spreading crack. He looked up at Sub Zero again who's expression was just screaming 'I told you so.'

"I, really, hate.." Scorpion began before he was sliding back down the slope with chunks of ice following him.

The snow slid between his clothing into all the most sensitive places, he had ice falling on top of him, and his skeletal teeth chattering was still going. Most people take several deep breaths to calm themselves down; Scorpion did it so he could yell louder when he started punching and kicking the ice patches of of him.

"Temper, temper. You should keep your voice down though." Sub Zero shouted down to him.

If anything this just turned the button for Scorpion's volume all the way up. Sub Zero heard a rumble, and felt distant vibrations in the snow. He looked up to where the lighting was shooting off, and it was shifting!

"Okay seriously, quiet down!" Sub Zero urged.

Scorpion was now trying to sprint up the ice, but he may as well have been running on a treadmill. Sub Zero slid down the hill on a ice slope he created.

"Yeah you better run!" Scorpion shouted at him, still stubbornly running in place.

The spectre looked in front of him and saw an avalanche coming his way.

"Oh..." He stated simply.

Scorpion popped it in reverse and started running back down the hill he had just spent a couple of hours climbing. He ran with an odd gait because he tried to stay in the tracks he had already made. Despite this, the avalanche was quickly gaining ground on him, flurries of snow were already flying in front of him. Scorpion spared a look back and was surprised to find the piece of the sphere, still discharging lightning, rolling along at the head of the avalanche. Scorpion started moving sideways with his hand out, trying to grab it and not get caught up in the avalanche. He was so close, his fingers almost brushed it, he had it! A large clump of snow came lose and took out his legs suddenly. Scorpion was rolling down the hill, building enough speed to outpace the avalanche, as well as building a shell of snow. Scorpion was soon encased in a snowball big enough to engulf him. The avalanche came to a crashing halt when it hit the bottom of the slope, and Scorpion's rolling descent slowed down considerably on flat ground. Sub Zero stopped the ball with his foot, and noticed one of Scorpion's hands still sticking out of the snowball, clutching the piece of the sphere.

"How kind of you Scorpion." Sub Zero said as he tried to take it.

Scorpion's fingers refused to let go, and Sub Zero had to pry them off. He then noticed a reddish orange light building inside the snowball, and he quickly dove to the ground as a burst of fire shot of of the ball. Keeping his head down, Sub Zero moved away as more flame melted the snow from inside out until Scorpion freed himself. His skin was blue from the cold, and his teeth were chattering loud enough for Sub Zero to hear.

"Give...me...that..."

Suddenly the electricity in the piece of the sphere overcharged, creating a light that blinded both of them.

* * *

><p>Back in Edenia, Liu Kang and his team cheered triumphantly. Watching the screens, they saw that Sub Zero and Scorpion had been transported to some new location, and Sub Zero was still in possession of the piece of the sphere. It was a small victory that they all enjoyed, with the exception of Mileena who was oddly quiet and contained.<p>

"Hey Pinky, why so glum?" Johnny asked her.

"Don't call me that." Mileena said with a sulk.

"Come on Pinky your harshing the mood!"

"Please don't call me that."

Johnny gasped and Jade, Jax, Liu Kang, and Kitana all turned and stared at Mileena, wide-eyed.

"Please?" They all stated in shock.

"Are you feeling well Mileena?" Kitana asked.

The older 'sister' put her hand on the younger's forehead, which Mileena slapped away defensively.

"Don't treat me like a child, I just...have a headache." Mileena said unconvincingly.

"More like a heartache." Johnny whispered in Jax's ear.

"For real, I haven't seen her boyfriend, that jumpy guard Eric, in awhile. Her attitude has been pretty glum all that time to." Jax whispered back.

Despite their whispering, Mileena was a trained assassin and she heard every word. She snarled and threw both her sais at the two men. Each blade got imbedded in the wall, just a few precious inches below their crotches.

"Damn, I missed." Mileena half joked, which terrified the two men.

"Okay, she is back." Johnny whispered.

"Why are you whispering? She can obviously hear us!" Jax snapped on him.

Mileena ignored the two arguing men and leaned back onto the wall with her arms crossed, pretending that Kitana wasn't there still. It didn't work.

"Is it true Mileena?"

"Yeah he's been gone for awhile; who cares?"

"You do, clearly."

"Don't give me that. If he has more important things to do...he can go do it, I don't care."

"Hmmm, maybe he's with a girl." Kitana prodded.

Kitana noticed Mileena's cheek twitch; a much more tame reaction than expected, but enough to prove her suspicions.

"Maybe." Mileena said with barely contained irritation.

"Give it up Mileena, you like him!" Kitana accused her.

"Do you want me to bite you?"

Jade listened to all them bicker, and some natural intuition in her made her stealthily approach the opposing teams section. She didn't have the ability to turn invisible, but she came about as close as a without that ability could due to her skill. Peeking around the corner, she made sure that Rain and Tanya were nearby. Then she listened closely.

"Scorpion is off to a bad start lord Rain." Tanya said.

"I noticed." Rain replied.

"Its a pity, after I worked so hard to take Jade out of the competition, which was a very clever plan on your part. Truly your reputation as great general is well deserved.

Rain rolled his eyes; he had actually gotten tired of Tanya's brown nosing, as impossible as it seemed.

"Despite this poor start, there is still opportunity for him to come out on top. Even if he doesn't, I still have a trump card that I can play. However, I first need to tie up some loose ends. Go to the others and make sure that our friend is taken care. Permanently."

"Absolutely lord Rain, your every wish is my greatest pleasure to..."

"Now Tanya!"

Jade hugged the wall tighter so that Tanya did not see her as she walked by. Resisting the urge to jump her mortal enemy, Jade quickly returned to her section to relay what she had learned to the others. When she got back, thankfully Jax and Johnny were separated from Liu, Mileena, and Kitana who was rubbing her shoulder which had bite marks on it.

"We've got to go." Jade told them.

"Go where?" Both of them asked.

"I'm pretty sure Rain has done something with Eric, and he has another plan up his sleeve, but this plan apparently relies on Eric being taken care of, permanently."

"That doesn't sound good." Jax stated.

"Definitely not. He ordered Tanya to meet up with the others, I'm guessing Rain's other cronies. We need to follow her."

"Alright let's just get Mileena and..."

"No! I think Mileena might cause things to escalate out of control, I want this to go smoothly."

"If you insist, lead the way Lucky." Johnny said.

"Good lets...wait, Lucky? Kitana is Baby Blue, Mileena is Pinky, where does Lucky come from?"

"You're wearing green, so yeah Lucky. It's an Irish thing."

Jade cocked an eyebrow at him. Irish?

"I guess in this case its an Earthrealm thing, but we don't have time for that. Lets move!" Jax rallied.

* * *

><p>Sub Zero wiped more sweat from his brow. If he had been keeping all the sweat he had been wiping away for the last half hour, he would have a gallon of smelly, salty, dirty liquid. He thought karma may have been playing a cruel joke on him; before he had been in a frozen snowy hillside, his ideal location, and now he was trudging up the face of a volcano!<p>

Suddenly he felt and heard a violent rumble in the ground, and then saw flame and molten rock start spewing from the glowing maw.

"Really? An active volcano!" He exclaimed before running.

Bits of molten rock shot out of the top like it were a cannon, and then started coming down like meteors. He had to run in a serpentine pattern to avoid the meteors that were surprisingly accurate. Very accurate actually, if he didn't know any better he would have suspected foul play...

_Inside The Volcano_

Standing on one of the walkable ledges inside the volcano tube, Scorpion pour more flames down the volcano's throat, added to the inferno far below. He could see the piece of the sphere down below as well, in the belly of the beast if you will. However, an even more pressing matter was at hand. He had seen Sub Zero making his way up the scorched slope of the volcano.

"You throw snowballs at me..." He said while shooting more flames into the inferno.

Like oil spitting out of a pan of cooking bacon, magma shot up out of the throat and hardened into heated meteorites in the air.

"I throw fiery rocks at you!"

_Topside_

Sub Zero really worked up a sweat now, and it wasn't just because of the heat. He was quickly running out of steam and couldn't keep running like this, but he couldn't turn back now because he saw the lightning bolts shooting out of the volcano's mouth like a beacon. Ending his serpentine pattern he instead started running straight up, with his hands out in front of him. Channeling his ice powers, he made essentially grow out of his hands and make an umbrella shape. He now had a transparent shield over him. A meteor struck the ice umbrella and bounced off, although it did chip away at the shield. Despite that, Sub Zero was content that his shield would hold. He used this security to catch his breath, and resembled a bluish white, oversized turtle crawling up the side of a volcano.

"No matter the injury, no matter the terrain, no matter the adversity, the Lin Kuei always..."

Suddenly a huge volley of white hot meteors shot out and began raining down upon him.

"...Shit!"

Calling upon his reserves of energy, Sub Zero hefted the ice shield open his shoulders and started running again. The extra hot volley smashed into the shield, both cracking it and melting it. His ice was coming apart before his very eyes, encouraging him to move faster. This sudden burst of heat and accuracy was mildly odd...Sub Zero shook his head clear. It wasn't like someone was directing this...

_In The Volcano_

Scorpion poured a continuous stream of his hellfire into the lava pool, all the while singing along to his favourite song before his death.

"Burn baby burn! Disco inferno..."

_Topside_

He was so close, but his shield was merely an ice cube of its former self. Sub Zero was almost to the top, his foot was on the lip of the volcano's mouth, and another volley came shooting out, this one arcing at him almost immediately. Sub Zero leaped forward just as his shield was destroyed. He toppled over and was in free fall, but managed to stop himself when he grabbed onto a ledge protruding from the wall. He hefted himself up onto it and took a knee, exhausted. He had escaped the last volley relatively unscathed save for a few singed hairs and...was something burning?

The question may have been stupid, but he didn't care because he grabbed for his ass and was jumping up and down. A piece of a meteor had burned through his pants and was now resting in his nether regions. He fished it out and threw the hot rock out of his sight. The lingering burning sensation felt like the worst rash ever.

"Can't take the heat?" Scorpion asked from a few feet below.

"Really, thats all you got? How unoriginal." Sub Zero rebutted.

Scorpion was cut down in his pride before he even took off.

"I, you...get over here!" The yellow ninja shouted before throwing his spear.

Sub Zero dodged it and the spear got stuck in the rock wall behind him.

"Ha, you missed!"

"Did I?" Scorpion asked rhetorically.

He sent his hellfire traveling up the chain and into the spear, where it then spread into the rock wall and ignited all the cracks in it like glowing veins. An internal combustion blasted the rock apart. Sub Zero was knocked off the ledge and was in free fall again. He created an ice slide in mid air and used it to get around obstacles. He aimed for the piece of the sphere, but the farther he descended, the hotter things got. It got so hot that his constructs melted faster than he could create them, and suddenly his slide broke under his weight and he crashed to the ground. He forced himself to his feet and took uneasy steps towards his goal.

"I guess this is how Frosty felt near the end."

"Get the fuck over here!"

Sub Zero didn't even have time to groan before a chain wrapped around his neck like a lasso and yanked him to the ground. Scorpion dragged him back and kicked him onto his front. Scorpion lifted Sub Zero's head over the pool of lava and then tried to dunk it in, but Sub Zero pushed against it.

"Prepare for a swirly you will never forget!" Scorpion told him.

"Your...trash talk is abysmal." Sub Zero mocked.

"Uh, you will burn?"

"Cliche."

"It's time to turn up the heat?"

"Nope."

"I'm going to melt your face off, then let you lift your head up before mercilessly stomping it back down!"

"Now you aren't even trying."

Despite his criticism, Sub Zero couldn't keep this up. He had to do something. Something crazy. He dug deep and called upon all the power in his cryomancer blood. He willed his power to come back to him despite his exhaustion. He thought about Liu Kang and Kitana, and how much rested upon his shoulders.

His breath came out of his mask as a frost ridden mist again.

He thought about Jade, who had broken through his cold and hard exterior, as he hoped he had done to her.

Ice began to form on his arms.

Finally, he thought about that kiss, that glorious kiss. If those five seconds were that good, just imagine...

His arms became encased his frigid ice. Sub Zero lifted his fists and plunged them into the lava. Instead of having his arms melted off, the lava froze solid. Now no longer needing to worry, he managed to throw Scorpion off of him. Instead of attacking, he bee lined for the piece of the sphere, with Scorpion right on his heels. Both men dove for the prize at the same time, and both landed a hand on it. Their fight had been turned into a tug o' war.

"There...can be only one." Scorpion stated.

"Are you serious?"

Neither of them anticipated what happened next. Steam had built up underneath the ice. It broke through the layer of ice and launched the two of them up and out of the volcano and into the air. Neither of them relinquished their hold on the object of their desire, not even while airborne.

"Let go!"

"You let go!"

The piece of the sphere overcharged and the both of them were teleported somewhere else. The Elder Gods, being in tune with all mystical happenings, were able to make out their quarrelling even when they were mere atoms being hurled across time and space.

* * *

><p>Jade, Jax, and Johnny had followed Tanya like a team of special operatives...<p>

"The J Team!" Johnny blurted out.

"The what?" Jade asked.

"The three of us, we're the J Team."

"Dude, shut up." Jax said.

"What? That could be a good movie."

"We don't have time for this Johnny, Tanya just went through those doors." Jade told them.

"What's our plan of attack?" Jax asked.

"You two will charge in. As you open the doors, I'll stealthily approach via the ceiling."

"Wait, it sounds like we are going to get the brunt of whatever is waiting for us." Johnny suspected.

"I'm sure two big strong men like you can handle anything." Jade said in an over exaggerated damsel in distress voice.

"You're damn right we can Lucky!" Johnny said confidently.

Jax just shook his head at the actor's gullibility. The three of them took positions, Jax took point. He counted to three with his hand, and on three he and Johnny charged the doors, steeling themselves for whatever instruments of torture may be waiting for them.

_On the Other Side_

"Go fish." Kano told to Reiko.

"Hold on a minute, you've been telling me that for the whole game."

"So?"

"So I've asked you for every card in the deck!"

"Nope, I don't think so."

Tanya sat in her chair and looked down at the two men sitting on the ground condescendingly.

"He's been lying the entire game Reiko, you fool." She said.

Kano threw his cards down.

"Damn you really are a little fink aren't you? No wonder Jade wants to kick your ass so badly." Kano told her.

Reptile leaned against the door, well away from the squabbling group. He had a raging headache. For some reason, he started reflecting on his long life. So many years of serving others, so many years of fighting for causes that weren't his own, all for the sake of trying to restore a race that had died out before his birth, a civilization he did not know save for his own body. Perhaps he needed to stop living for others, stop living for some impossible dream. Maybe he should start living for himself...

Suddenly Johnny and Jax broke the doors down and crushed Reptile beneath them. They didn't realize, and walked right over him. Kano, Reiko, and Tanya all jumped to their feet.

"Moo cem fi mo! (You came for me)" Eric said.

"What are you doing here? Do you worms dare to attack accomplices of Lord Rain?" Tanya asked them with confidence.

Someone tapped her shoulder from behind, and she unwisely turned.

"Why yes, we do dare." Jade said before smashing Tanya's own chair over her head.

The chair was destroyed and Tanya fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What the.." Kano and Reiko both said after turning.

Jax and Johnny took advantage of their distraction. Jax grabbed Kano from behind and dropped him onto his knee, straining his spine, and then followed up by bending Kano across his shoulders, almost breaking his back in two. Johnny did the splits and delivered three uppercuts to Reiko's groin, which still had the diaper like cast over it, and did an elbow drop onto his back. Both men were incapacitated.

"Whooo! The J Team baby, I love it when a plan comes together." Johnny said happily.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that this was too easy?" Jax asked.

"I don't care, it felt good...really good." Jade said, sounding oddly sadistic.

"Okay...maybe we should get our friend down." Jax suggested.

As they went to work about that, Reptile lifted himself out of from under the destroyed doors. Something within him snapped. He had fallen from great heights, eaten disgusting and unbearably spicy food, and bean burned by fireballs. He had been smashed, bashed, and crushed...for the last time. Silently fuming, Reptile stomped towards the J Team, not even bothering to cloak himself. As Eric was lowered to the ground, before he could be freed he noticed Reptile coming up behind his rescuers.

"Luus ut!"

"What he say?" Johnny asked.

"Luus ut!" Eric said while gesturing to Reptile with his head.

The J Team turned and found Reptile just casually walking up to them. Naturally, they underestimated their situation.

"I got this." Jax told the others.

He walked up to Reptile and grabbed him by his collar.

"Gotcha!" He stated confidently.

Reptile's hand wrapped around his throat, choking the air out of him.

"No...I got you!"

Reptile lifted Jax off his feet and slammed him head first into the stone ground. Johnny attempted to come to his aid and performed a shadow kick. Reptile put his free hand forward and caught Johnny's foot, stopping his kick in its tracks. He pushed his foot away and Johnny did the splits, attempting to attack Reptile's groin. Reptile merely stopped Johnny's fist with his foot.

"You aren't getting away with that anymore."

Reptile lifted Jax into the air and slammed him down onto Johnny, who was much smaller. With those two dealt with, Reptile turned his attention to Jade.

"It seems you've finally found your spine Reptile." Jade taunted.

"And I'm about to find yours." Reptile replied.

He ran at her, and Jade started making quick swipes and jabs at him with her staff. He dodged all of them and wrestled her staff from her.

"This toothpick annoys me." He broke her staff in half over his knee.

Reptile held each half in his hands like batons and attacked Jade; two strikes to the stomach, one to the leg to bring her to the knees, and then he hit he upwards with both of them at once. Jade flipped over from the impact.

Reptile tossed the halves aside and took a look at his handiwork. He was compelled to roar out loud, and he did. He even beat his fists against his chest as he did so.

"I feel so great, so powerful, like I can, like I can..." He started to slip his hand into his pants, all that adrenaline was going somewhere.

"What, the hell, are you doing?" A revitalized Kano asked.

**Whrrrp!**

Reptile put his hands behind his back hastily as Reiko and Tanya got to their feet as well.

"I was subduing our attackers." Reptile said.

"Subdue? More like ra..."

"Enough! Not only are we going to kill this pathetic little guard who knows too much, we are going to kill all Liu Kang and Kitana's little minions too!" Tanya stated.

"All of them? I think you are forgetting about somebody."

All four of them, as well as the J Team turned to the source of the voice.

"Misless Mevanna!" Eric said excitedly.

Mileena strutte forward like she owned the place, which by some technicalities she did.

"Did you idiots really think I didn't hear about your little plan?" She asked to the J Team.

"And you, this is where you've been all this time? You are even more of a shitty guard than I thought." She scolded Eric.

"In case you haven't noticed sweetie, it's four against one." Kano said while drawing his knives.

"I know, it's not fair for you."

"What did you plan on doing when you came down here silly girl?" Tanya asked.

Mileena narrowed her eyes at the comment.

"First, I planned on dealing all four of you some uniquely horrendous pain. Second, I was going to take all of my friends here back up to see the end of this stupid Olympiad. Third and finally, once Rain loses, I planned on personally kicking him and all of you out of Edenia and into whatever realm I thought was suitable."

"You talk a big game Mileena, but you are in over your head. Here's my plan, after I give you an acid bath, I'm finally going to devour that snivelling little man chained up there." Reptile said.

Still clinging to his defeat of the J Team, Reptile shot his tongue out at Mileena, intending to rip her head off. Instead, Mileena caught his tongue in her hand. Reptile tried to retract it, but Mileena held it firmly in place.

"Let me make this perfectly clear to you, to everyone actually. Without my permission, no one, and I mean no one is going to be putting their mouth on him except me!"

"Huh?" Eric asked, dumbfounded.

Kano ran at Mileena with both his knives. He tried slashing her, but she parried it with one of her sai. She managed to fend him off with one weapon, knocking one of his knives out of his hand. She ducked under another one of his slashes and stabbed her sai into his foot, and then quickly did the same with the other.

"Ah! Crikey!" Kano exclaimed.

Mileena grabbed his hand that still held a knife and started wrapping Reptile's tongue around it. After several circles, she took Kano's knife and stabbed it through Reptile's tongue and into Kano's hand, pinning the two together. Both parties yelled in pain.

"Be a dear and hold that for me." Mileena said.

Reiko came running at her. She tucked and rolled under his feet, making him trip. While he started getting to his feet, Mileena put her boot to his ass. Reiko almost toppled over the side and into the acid pool below, but he grabbed a hold of Kano's free hand, not that Kano was trying to save him. Mileena limboed under Reptile's tongue and ran her finger along the length of it as she walked towards Kano, despite the spit. Kano desperately tried to move but he was completely immobilized, and Reiko's weight pulled painfully at the blades stuck in his feet. Mileena crouched down placed her hands on the hilts of each sai.

"No, no, no, please, have a heart!" Kano pleaded.

Mileena laughed like the very notion was a joke.

"Have a nice trip!" She said before pulling her sais out of his feet.

With Kano no longer being anchored to the ground, Reiko pulled him, and the two of them toppled over the side. Reptile was being dragged along as well, and Mileena waved to him as he past her. He had to crouch like a frog to stop himself from being pulled over the edge, but he felt like his brain was about to yanked out of his head. His tongue was stretched to the limit, and Kano and Reiko panicked while dangling dangerously close to the skin dissolving acid.

"Don't let go! Don't let go!" Reiko pleaded to Kano.

"Lit gu! Lit gu! (Let go)" Reptile shouted from above.

While the three men were otherwise occupied, Mileena approached Tanya with a particularly sinister demeanour.

"Now now Mileena, can't we talk about this?" Tanya asked fearfully.

Mileena cracked her knuckles and snickered.

"I've got something special in mind for you, you won't be able to talk."

_Five Minutes Later_

Tanya opened her eyes groggily. She wasn't sure what happened, Mileena was coming at her and then she must have blacked out. She realized with a startle that she was in the air! She realized this because she saw the J Team, Mileena, and Eric the guard looking up at her. Wait, the guard was unchained and didn't have a gag? She made another startling realization, or rather a horrifying one. She had the gag in her mouth, and her limbs were hogtied behind her with the chain. That wasn't the worst part though. No, the worst part was the, foreign objects. Namely, both halves of Jade's staff.

"Mmmm, kinky." Mileena commented.

Jax whistled in awe, Eric was slack jawed, Jade look oddly satisfied. Johnny didn't know what to think.

"Wow, remind me to never piss you off Pinky." Johnny said.

"You are doing it right now." Mileena told him.

Johnny took a step back. A big step.

"You...right up her...did you really need to use both pieces?" Eric asked.

"I didn't need to, but what hell, right?"

"I like it." Jade stated.

"Sub Zero is in for a hell of a time then." Johnny said under his breath.

"We should get back, Liu Kang and Kitana will be missing us." Jax said.

"What about all of them?" Eric asked.

"They don't look like they are going anywhere." Jax told him. One by one they began to file out of the acid chamber.

"Eric, I want to know everything you do. I want to know what was so important that Rain had you locked up like this." Jade said.

"Yeah, yes of course general."

Johnny and Jade were the first to leave, and Mileena was going to be third before Eric caught up to her.

"Mistress Mileena, I just wanted to thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you I would have...well you know what they wanted to do to me."

Mileena turned on him with some fire in her eyes, taking him off guard.

"Don't let it happen again." She told him fiercely.

He didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. Mileena then showed a softer side suddenly, she put her arm around him. Uncertain, but thinking it worth the risk, Eric put his arm around her as well. To his relief, she didn't try to kill him.

"And enough with the mistress crap already, save that for my mother and sister." She told him softly.

Jax brought up the rear, and felt he needed to stand the doors back up again, if only to hide the what had been done in this room. He spared one more look and Reptile, Kano, Reiko and Tanya before closing the doors.

"Damn." He muttered.

* * *

><p>A portal opened and Sub Zero and Scorpion fell through it. Both of them were exhausted, and definitely looked the part.<p>

"It's...mine."

"No...mine."

Both of them suddenly realized that neither of them had 'it'. Sub Zero checked his belt a noticed the piece he already had was gone too. The two pieces of the sphere lay next to each other on the ground a few feet away. The ground looked familiar...

"What is this?" Scorpion asked out loud.

They had been transported back to Edenia, back to the arena. The spectators loudly talked amongst one another, and the lightning screens disappeared.

"Welcome back!" Raiden greeted them.

"Back? Why are we back?" Scorpion asked.

"Indeed Raiden, I thought we had three pieces to retrieve?" Sub Zero asked.

"Oh you do, you do..." Raiden snapped his fingers.

A section in the arena floor, a large section slid away. They heard the sound of machinery, large gears mostly, followed by a deep and loud growling sound.

"What was that?" Sub Zero asked.

"It sounds...big." Scorpion stated.

A platform was rising to the top of the hole in the floor. The creature standing upon it cast a shadow over them, a huge shadow, a shadow larger than it's forty foot tall frame. Strapped to the creature's head was the third and final piece of the sphere.

"You can have that one." Sub Zero told Scorpion while he constructed his Kori blade.

"You are too kind." Scorpion told Sub Zero sarcastically while drawing both of his Mugai Ryu.

The ground shook with each lumbering step the Tormentor took. It bent down and let a deafening roar, spewing slobber and guts all over the place.

"It's time for some big game hunting." Scorpion proclaimed.

"That is...you know what, fuck it, it'll do." Sub Zero said.

_**Too Be Continued**_

* * *

><p><em>Over eleven thousand words in a chapter; thats a personal record. As you may be able to tell, the end is upon us. Eric, who may hold the secret to ending Rain's plans, has been rescued by Mileena and the J Team. Rain's minions have all been done in by Mileena's twisted head. Also, Scorpion isn't as eloquent as he would like to be. When you have a bad ass attitude like that, who needs eloquence? Read, review, enjoy, and stay tuned for the conclusion to Meet the Edenians.<em>


	15. Chapter 15

_Here it is, the final chapter. It's been a long time coming, I mean a really long time coming. I blame my procrastination on my inability to plan this crap out, rather I just wrote when I had the inspiration and just went with the flo. Looking back at old chapters, I think I started off with somewhat goofy toilet humour that relied heavily, probably too much, on the films that inspired me to do this and then took it to it's own level. Almost like a __sitcom of sorts, but I like how it has turned it out. One thing that I tried to commit to was not take things to far out of itself; namely the characters. I feel that one can find a laugh in even a serious franchise like Mortal Kombat. Here we go, for the last time._

* * *

><p>Sub Zero and Scorpion stood at the feet of the Tormentor, their two thirds of the metal sphere somewhere in the middle, and the third strapped to the top of the creature's head like an undersized bow. Sub Zero's kori blade shimmered in the light while a cold air floated off of it, and Scorpion's dual mugai ryu hummed and a faint tint of flame ran along the length of both blades. If the Tormentor had been more intelligent, it would have been more cautious, as they really looked fearsome...<p>

"You go first." Sub Zero said.

"What? Why me?" Scorpion asked.

"Why not?"

"Why not you?"

"You can teleport to avoid any attacks." Sub Zero reasoned.

"You can freeze it." Scorpion countered.

"I can't just freeze something that size just like that!" Sub Zero snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"And I can only teleport a few feet!"

The Tormentor looked down upon the arguing men, confused. It had expected them to attack, but instead they were just yelling at each other.

"I think you are just scared." Sub Zero accused.

"No I am not!"

"Then go!"

"No, you go!"

"No, you!"

"What, are you scared?" Scorpion mocked.

"Thats ridiculous I...why is it getting darker?" Sub Zero noticed the light being blocked out.

"Oh shit.." Scorpion said before the both of them were crushed.

The Tormentor had dropped it's fist like massive hammers onto them, and the whole arena platform shook from the impact.

"That idiot!" Liu Kang and Rain both said from opposite sides.

The Tormentor lifted it's fist up out of the shallow craters it had created. In the centre of these craters, Scorpion and Sub Zero were pressed into the metal, swords and all.

"That, was your fault." Scorpion said through the pain.

"How, was that my fault?" Sub Zero asked, equally hurt.

"Because, it just was."

"If you had, gone first like I said..."

The Tormentor dropped it's fist down again, even harder this time. This time however, the hand that fell on the blue one felt really cold, so cold that it numbed. Suddenly ice spread all over its hand. After that, the yellow one appeared out of a fiery hole in the air, landing on top of its other hand. The Tormentor lifted its frozen hand to crush the yellow one, but was surprised to find the blue one stuck to its hand, stuck to the frozen ice.

"Fine, I'll go first and you can distract it." Scorpion said to Sub Zero.

"I will not be a distraction, hey, hey!" Sub Zero exclaimed as the Tormentor started to try and shake him off like he were a piece of tape.

"Yeah, keep doing that." Scorpion said smugly.

While the Tormentor's attention was focused on trying to shake Sub Zero off it's hand, Scorpion started running along it's other arm. He made it up to the creature's bicep before it noticed. Scorpion looked back in time to see it's hand coming towards him, about to squish him like a bug. With only a second to spare he jumped from Tormentor's bicep to it's chest, and he used his swords to anchor himself to the creature's hide. The Tormentor's hand slapped onto it's arm, missing its intended target, but hitting another unintentionally.

"Ow!" Sub Zero's muffled voice said from underneath the hand.

The Tormentor lifted Sub Zero, still frozen to it's palm, to it's face. It licked it lips in anticipation. That is until the blue one broke free from the ice and sent shards of cold into it's eyes, temporarily blinding it. Sub Zero climbed to the other side of it's hand and began to scale it's arm, freezing his feet with each step to keep himself from falling. In a few moments Sub Zero had reached the left shoulder, and Scorpion had used his swords like climbing hooks to reach the right shoulder. The Tormentor looked back and forth between the two little things on it's shoulders. Scorpion and Sub Zero both focused on their goal; the sphere strapped to the Tormentor's head.

"It's mine!" They both stated.

Both ninja jumped forth from their respective shoulders, both with a hand outstretched as they flew through the air. It looked like they would both reach it at the same time, but the Tormentor noticed something on the ground and bowed it's head. Sub Zero and Scorpion's eyes widened as they helplessly continued on their course, and collided head first. They fell to the ground and hit with a heavy thud.

"That, was your fault." Scorpion said while rubbing his head.

"You jumped too." Sub Zero rebutted.

"It was still your fault." Scorpion defended with no legitimate reasoning.

The both of them noticed, with dread, what had distracted the lumbering monster and made it duck. It had picked up the two pieces of the sphere that they had recovered from the snowy mountain and the volcano, and was lifting them towards it's mouth.

"No, no, no, no..." Scorpion and Sub Zero both pleaded.

The Tormentor swallowed both pieces, and let out a ground shaking belch.

"Damn." Sub Zero cursed.

"Shit." Scorpion swore.

They both shot Raiden quizzical looks. The thunder god merely shrugged.

"The show must go on?" He told them.

A loud wave of whoops from the crowd added to this. Sub Zero took a look back to where Liu Kang and Kitana stood. Their expressions drove the point home, and he got to his feet. He regarded the Tormentor with an analytical eye, even as it bowed down and roared at them. Sub Zero sighed heavily, he knew what needed to be done.

Scorpion opened his eyes from rubbing his head to find Sub Zero's hand offered to him. The yellow ninja shot him a confused and almost disgusted look.

"When we work alone, we just work against each other." Sub Zero told him.

"I don't need you help!" Scorpion snorted.

From his sitting position, Scorpion teleported. He reappeared in the air with his throwing spear readied, aimed at the Tormentor's face.

"Get over..." The Tormentor back handed him.

He shot back down to the ground like a bullet.

"Oh!" The crowd exclaimed.

Scorpion's vision tilted from side to side, even though his head wasn't moving. When it settled, he saw Sub Zero offering his hand again, though looking at him more condescendingly this time.

"Don't look at me like that." Scorpion said before taking his hand.

Sub Zero helped him to his feet and they both turned to their target.

"Plan?" Scorpion asked.

"You hit it high?"

"You hit it low."

They both ran at the Tormentor, and the creature charged them as well. It looked like it was a suicide run, that is until Sub Zero created a thick layer of ice in the Tormentor's path. The Tormentor clumsily stumbled when it slipped on the ice. Scorpion took the opportunity and teleported up to the creature's head. He stabbed his spear into the side of it's head and then jumped down. He used the momentum to swing back up and over the other side of the Tormentor's head, wrapping the chain across it's neck. He jumped down to the ground behind the beast. Taking the chain in both his hands, Scorpion tugged on it, pulling the chain taught.

The Tormentor was still off balance from Sub Zero's ice puddle, but it's sheer size and strength kept it upright. Sub Zero fired twin streams of ice at the Tormentor's legs. Slowly, the tree trunk sized legs started to become encased in ice and made brittle. The Tormentor roared in protest and tried to get it's footing again, but Scorpion used all his strength to hold it back. After a few moments the Tormentor's legs were frozen through up to the knee.

"Come on hothead, heave!" Sub Zero shouted.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Scorpion proclaimed loudly.

"Finally, that works!" Sub Zero charged into the Tormentor's legs, cracking them.

Large cracks broke open along the Tormentor's legs. Sub Zero's hit had caused the crack and Scorpion's pulling strained the ice under the creature's own weight.

"Get, over, here!" Scorpion roared.

With one more strong pull, the Tormentor's frozen legs broke off at the knees, and the rest of the creature toppled over. The ensuing impact made everyone present bounce off the ground momentarily.

The Tormentor was knocked senseless by the impact. It tried to lean back up, but the chain around it's neck yanked it back down again. Following that, it's hands were frozen to the ground. Scorpion and Sub Zero both climbed on top of it, making sure they were in full view of the creature.

"I believe you ate something of ours." Sub Zero told it coldly.

"You are going to have the stomach ache of a life time." Scorpion added with sadistic glee.

Tormentors were not know for their intelligence. Most people regarded them as single minded war machines. This particular one, however, was smart enough to speak. It was nothing elaborate, it was a simple thing, though it summed it's situation up perfectly.

"Uh oh."

_Five gruesome minutes later._

The stands were the spectators were now had several servants walking up and down the aisles offering barf bags to whoever needed one. There were repeat customers.

Scorpion and Sub Zero had gone about dissecting the Tormentor like it were a science project, though with the finesse of a butcher. The two ninja were knee deep in entrails, blood, and once they had reached the stomach, undigested food. They had gotten an unwanted lesson in the Tormentor diet; it was just about anything they could fit in their mouths.

"Do you think that pieces were completely destroyed in the Tormentor's belly? Liu?" Kitana asked.

Liu Kang pulled his head out of a bucket after having vomited for the eighth time.

"Either way, I don't really want to see it. Oh here it comes..." He dunked his head into the bucket again.

Scorpion felt his way through the mess of body parts, blood, and assorted bodily fluids until he felt what he was looking for. He pulled it out with a disgusting squish but held it triumphantly.

"I got it!" He exclaimed, showing off one of the pieces of the sphere that had been swallowed.

"Ew." Several spectators said to this.

"I found the other one!" Sub Zero held the other piece up as well, but some bio matter that still clung to it dislodged and fell on his face.

"Ew!" Even more spectators exclaimed.

Sub Zero wiped the stuff off of his face and joined Scorpion, who was laughing at him, as they stepped out of the Tormentor's corpse. The two of them approached the decapitated head of the Tormentor, which had a now permanently glum expression, like they were old friends.

"You stink Scorpion, did you actually enjoy crawling through that mess?" Sub Zero joked.

"I stink? You should smell yourself, are you sure you didn't get lost and go exploring it's asshole?"

The two men laughed cheerfully, but then their fingers brushed against each other when they both placed their hands on the piece of the sphere that was strapped to the Tormentor's head. They both turned their gazes on each other, both narrowing their eyes. The brief tolerance they had for one another mere moments ago had been shattered.

"Move." They both told each other.

They both growled at each other, trying to push one another back by staring alone.

"I've been beating on you for some time now hothead, back down now before you get really hurt." Sub Zero threatened.

"You think you got what it takes to do it, snowball? Why don't you just try it!"

The two of them backflipped away from each other. They were like mirrors of one another; both placed their sphere piece on their belts, both stood in a staggered stance, and then they both placed their hands slightly to their sides and cupping an imaginary ball. Suddenly, flames erupted out of the ground at Scorpion's feet, reaching to his shins. The ground at Sub Zero's feet began to freeze over, and flurries started falling in his vicinity. The crowds of spectators, Liu Kang and Kitana and Rain, Raiden, even Jerrod and Sindel hushed immediately. The local Edenians, who already had a great affinity for all things magical, felt the growing energy even before it became visible. In Sub Zero's hands a bluish white ball of energy started to grow, and in Scorpion's, a reddish orange one.

* * *

><p><em>Netherrealm Studios<em>

"Mr. Boon, we have a situation."

"What is it?"

"...Its Toei Animation."

"The Japanese anime company that produced Dragon Ball Z?"

"The very same."

"What do they want...and is this a long distance call?"

"Sir they are calling from Tokyo, and we are in Chicago."

"...So it's a long distance call?"

"Yes, I'm pretty certain."

"Hang up then! I can't afford this kind of crap, I don't want to go bankrupt...again."

"But they say that Sub Zero and Scorpion are coming dangerously close to copying some of their material, a kamehameha they called it?"

"Nope, impossible. These...whatever Scorpion and Sub Zero are about to do is fire and ice. Kamehamehas are just light and...yeah light."

"Mr. Boon, they are threatening to sue..."

"Hang up now or this call will be taken out of your pay check!"

* * *

><p>For what felt like minutes the two ninjas stood in their stances, although the environment had changed dramatically around them. Snow covered Sub Zero's half of the arena like winter had come and gone in an instant. Scorpion's half looked like the remains of a forest fire; ashes flew in the air, and the metal ground was red hot and even melting in some spots.<p>

"This doesn't look like its going to end well...maybe we should,"

"Duck?" Liu Kang finished.

As if his statement had been said into a megaphone, the spectators, or at least the ones with any sense, put their heads down. This sudden onset of caution was not lost on Raiden, who watched both men carrying the sun and a glacier.

"Oh, screw this." He said before teleporting well away from the arena.

Sub Zero and Scorpion had poured all their energy into this final attack. In hindsight, it may have been overkill, but this competition had changed from being goal based to personal. They both thrusted their hands forward and sent their gathered energies at each other. The moment the hottest fire met the coldest ice, it was like the big bang occurred all over again.

* * *

><p>Raiden had teleported to a cottage on a hill overlooking the Edenian plains, just on the outskirts of the city. He came here every so often to avoid the stresses of god hood, among other things. It was a place that he could just kick back and put his feet up in, literally. He sat down heavily in his favourite chair and crossed his feet on the coffee table. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a blunt. Having been Earthrealm's guardian deity for all this time, he had taken up one of the customs most partaken in. He lit the paper with a small zap of electricity, but before placing it into his mouth, he slid his hand into his pants. He had taken up two customs, actually. He noticed a bright, no, a blinding light coming from the direction of the arena. Raiden merely shrugged and took a long drag.<p>

* * *

><p>Nature itself had gone to war. Liu cautiously climbed to the top of the arena platform and couldn't believe what he saw. Everything he could see that had been more or less on his half of the arena was melted and burned. The spectators all had singed eyebrows, and looked like they had just spent the whole day sunbathing with cooking oil on their skin. The metal of the platform was warped and melted, and liquified metal drip onto the ground below.<p>

Rain came up from his cover to find everything on his half of the arena to be frozen. The spectators, frozen in place. The metal platform, slippery with ice. Icicles the size of a Tormentor's fingers stretched down to the ground.

They both approached the centre of the platform, which was obscured by a mushroom cloud like a nuclear bomb had gone off. Rain created a gust of wind to blow the smoke away. Only three things survived the devastation, and barely at that. The Tormentor's decapitated head, or what was left of it, with the piece of the sphere still strapped to it's head. Frozen to that object was Scorpion's hand, and attached to that frozen hand was the rest of Scorpion, frozen completely. White eyes still open, brows still furrowed, like a picture. Also on that object was a burnt hand, blistered and red. Indeed, Sub Zero's entire body was like that. He was slumped on the ground, unconscious, but still touching the piece of the sphere all the same.

Liu Kang and Rain were in no position to call the winner, so instead...

"Raiden!" They both shouted.

A flash of lightning skated across the sky. Then a bolt crashed into the ground between the two of them, much to their relief. Accompanying the blinding light was, a smokey odour?

"I...wo..." Raiden said.

"Raiden?" Liu Kang asked.

"I am here!" Raiden said suddenly.

"What is wrong with you?" Rain asked.

"Nothing. Whats wrong with you?"

"What is that smell?" Rain asked.

"It smells like.." Liu Kang began.

"Its nothing, I was...barbecuing." Raiden tried waving the smell away with his hand.

"Are your eyes red?" Liu Kang asked.

"They are contacts." Raiden defended.

"Contacts? You don't even have pupils, your whole eye is..."

"Okay! Lets see what we have here." Raiden interrupted.

He inspected the scene, stroking his chin in thought.

"My man has claimed possession of the final piece." Rain said.

"So has Sub Zero!" Liu protested.

Rain ignored him, "Out with it Raiden, declare a winner.

"Hmmm, I guess..." Raiden began.

Liu Kang and Rain leaned in closer.

"Maybe..."

They leaned in even more, the anticipation was gruelling.

"I suppose...hey, do you mind?" Raiden asked.

Liu Kang and Rain had leaned in so much that if Raiden had held his his breath, his bloated cheeks would have grazed their noses.

"Raiden, the verdict?" Liu Kang asked.

"I can't see it any other way; its a tie."

"A tie?" Liu Kang and Rain exclaimed.

"A tie?" Kitana exclaimed.

"A tie?" Sindel's deafening voice echoed.

"...A tie?" Jerrod said after rubbing his ear.

All surprised and confused parties gathered together. Raiden merely shrugged.

"A tie." He stated again.

"How can you declare this a tie? That means the whole Olympiad is still...tied!" Liu explained.

"Well the both of them have a hand on the final piece, and it is unclear who did so first."

"But a winner! How can we declare a winner? Who marries Kitana?" Jerrod asked.

"I know, we'll have another Olympiad!" Raiden suggested.

"No!" They all shouted at him.

"Enough of this, I will settle this once and for all. Argus!" Rain yelled.

Next to the purple ninja a ball of light appeared. The ball got brighter and then took on the shape of a person, and then it faded to reveal an old but healthy looking man with spiked grey hair. He did look rather tired though.

"...Yes Rain, what is it."

"Argus! It's been too long." Raiden greeted.

"Raiden? You haven't aged a bit..."

"Hey, enough jerking each other off! Argus, I need you to resolve this." Rain demanded.

"Whats the rush? Sorry Raiden, you know how kids are..."

"I am not a child!"

"Right, of course you're not son. Anyway, what did you need?"

"I need you to end this standoff. Raiden believes that this has ended in a tie, but you think otherwise, right?"

"Ah, I see. While I respect your opinion Raiden, I'm afraid that because this tie occurred, I name Rain the victor."

"You what?" Liu Kang asked angrily.

He stomped up to the taller man and gripped his collar roughly.

"Who the hell are you to decide that?" Liu asked angrily.

"Argus, the protector god, and head deity of Edenia." Jerrod told him.

"Oh..." Liu said with shock.

He let go of Argus's collar and straightened it, smiling apologetically.

"But Argus, isn't it unfair to declare Rain the winner?" Raiden asked.

"It may look that way, but it is traditional that the invoker of the Right of Godly Entitlement wins any stalemates such as this."

"Which means that Kitana and I, are to be married." Rain said, making sure that Liu Kang heard every word.

"Wait, just wait!" Liu pleaded.

Rain walked over to Kitana and took her hand in his, forcefully. Any trace of him trying to be respectful to her before was completely gone.

"Get your hand off of me!"

"Now now dear, don't be a nuisance."

Liu moved to attack Rain, but Argus stopped him with his magic.

"No, you can't do this!"

Kitana looked back to her parents with pleading eyes. Sindel looked to Jerrod for any strength, any solution. Jerrod looked like he was going to step in, but instead he merely lowered his eyes.

"Dad?" Kitana asked.

"I'm sorry Kitana, but...it is decided."

Rain had pulled Kitana to him and wrapped his arms around her. He looked to Liu Kang who stood petrified in place, and removed his mask. He tilted his head and moved closer to Kitana's face, parting his lips before they...

"Hold it!" Someone yelled.

Rain broke off the kiss and saw, with horror, the rest of Liu Kang's team climbing to the top of the platform, with Eric the guard.

"Holy hell, what happened here?" Johnny asked after seeing the devastation left over from Sub Zero and Scorpion's bout.

"Damn, we missed one hell of a part." Mileena said with disappointment.

"Sub Zero!" Jade exclaimed and she ran over to the burnt man.

"Um, Argus I think it's time that we left to make wedding preparations." Rain said hastily.

"The hell you are, you've been scheming behind everyone's backs and you aren't getting away with it." Jax accused.

"Seriously Argus, let's go. Now!" Rain asked.

"You can't leave yet, the fun is just starting. Tell 'em Eric." Mileena said.

The young guard was silent.

"Eric?"

"I have stage fright." Eric said quietly, noticing how many people were around him.

Mileena slapped him over the head.

"Okay, okay. Um, Princess Kitana, Queen Sindel and King Jerrod, I overheard some things."

Mileena slapped him again.

"While making my rounds I overheard Rain talking to Tanya about his intentions. The only reason he is interested in marrying Kitana is so that he can take the throne and become a full god. In fact, he plans to give Kitana's soul to Quan Chi as payment for having Scorpion compete on his behalf!"

"He what?" Liu Kang, Kitana, Jerrod and Sindel all exclaimed.

Rain now stood in the middle of a very awkward circle.

"Rain, is this true?" Jerrod asked.

"Now I can explain...actually, no I can't." Rain admitted.

Kitana took Rain by surprise and punched him across the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"You little snake!" She said lividly.

"Now hold on..."

She stomped on his crotch. Mileena couldn't help laughing.

"Okay thats it!" Rain said.

He created a wave of water and used it to smash Liu Kang's team and Eric off of the platform. He hopped to his feet and wrapped Kitana up in a water bubble that held her in place. He then turned his attention to Liu Kang.

"You worthless, pathetic, disgusting, weak, Earthrealm monk. You've ruined everything; but the least I can do is make sure you end up with nothing as well!"

Rain made a blade of water on his forearm and moved to decapitate Liu Kang, but green energy lifted him in the air and then slammed him on the ground before he could do it.

"Enough! It's over Rain, all over." Jerrod told him.

Kitana smiled at him, as did Liu. Rain got to his feet, clutching his arm.

"No, not yet it's not. Not until all of you are broken before me."

Raiden raised his hands towards Argus and shot forth a thin stream of water and a continuous current of lightning. They acted like jumper cables between the two, and Argus's power flowed into Rain.

"Hey, what are you doing? What are you," Argus was cut off when he was completely drained by Rain.

Rain shook with power, and laughed evilly.

"Finally, this is what it is like to be a god!" Rain shouted.

The sky turned dark, the wind picked up, and it started to pour. Lightning also shot across the sky; Rain had created a small hurricane.

"He absorbed Argus's power!" Raiden stated in awe.

"So what?" Liu asked.

Now that he was free, Liu ran at Rain. Rain called down a bolt of lightning and shocked him, stunning him, and then blasted him with a jet of water. Liu landed at Raiden's feet.

"That's what." Raiden told him.

"You are a god to, isn't this breaking some kind of law?" Liu asked.

"Oddly enough, no. Good luck!" Raiden said before teleporting away.

"Wait, Raiden!" Liu protested.

"Liu, look out!" Kitana warned.

Liu looked up and saw Rain about to drop down on him. Suddenly, Sindel's hair wrapped around him and pulled him out of the way. When Rain landed, his knees shattered the ground.

"That was too close." Sindel stated.

"Liu Kang, get Kitana out of here. I will deal with Rain." Jerrod said.

"I'm not leaving you here alone." Liu Kang told him.

"I wasn't asking Liu."

"And I'm not leaving."

"And neither am I." Kitana joined them.

"This isn't open for a discussion Kitana." Jerrod told her.

"Give it a rest Jerrod, she isn't a child anymore. She's getting married for goodness sake." Sindel told him.

Liu nodded to her appreciatively.

"Fine, Kitana with me. Sindel, with Liu Kang." Jerrod ordered.

All four of them took battle stances, ready to fight. Rain's indomitable arrogance grew immeasurably with his new found power. He stood laxly and laughed at them.

"Replacing the entire royal family in one fell swoop? How convenient!" Rain said before calling down a lightning bolt.

It split into four separate bolts, one for each target, and they barely dodged it. Liu Kang and Sindel attacked first. Sindel shot three bursts of purple fire at Rain. While Rain was busy blocking them, Liu Kang attempted a bicycle kick. With amazing speed Rain blocked the last fireball with one arm and then parried every kick from Liu Kang with his other. He caught Liu in a water bubble and lifted him into the air. Once Rain let the bubble pop, he performed a geyser kick and struck Liu whilst he was falling. Sindel flew by and caught him before he could take any more punishment.

"Come, come! I've got enough for all of you!" Rain boasted.

Jerrod created a literal wall of forceful energy. He sent it towards Rain, who created a wall of water and met the green wall with his blue wall. The two forces were pitted against each other and slowly but surely Rain began to get the upper hand, his super charged powers overpowering even Ermac's. It wasn't Jerrod's intention to make Rain backdown however, it was merely to distract him.

"Are you getting tired old man?" Rain asked mockingly.

"A little, but you are about to get something much worse."

Kitana came up behind Rain and stabbed her closed fans into his back. Rain gasped from the pain and Kitana kept digging her fans deeper into his back.

"You bitch, I've had enough of you!" Rain roared.

Suddenly, jets of blood erupted from where Kitana had stabbed him, pushing the fans out and blasting her away. At the same time Rain overwhelmed Jerrod and knocked him away with his water wall. Gesturing with his hand, Rain controlled his expelled blood to flow back into him, healing the open wounds in the process. Sindel tried grabbing him with her hair, but Rain reversed it by grabbing her hair in his hands. He pulled it and yanked her to the ground hard. He grabbed her head and brought Sindel to her knees, aiming her face towards Jerrod, Liu Kang, and Kitana. Rain yanked her hair by the roots, and she couldn't help but scream. The sound wave attacked their ears, stunning them. Once he had his fill of that, Rain tossed Sindel over to them. Kitana caught her, barely.

"All this power, combined with my cunning, I am unstoppable. I won't lie, I always wanted to kill you monk, but to take on Jerrod and Sindel, well even I had reservations about that. But now..." Rain looked up to the raging hurricane in the sky.

"Now, I am unstoppable!"

Liu Kang felt something cut him. Confused, he looked up and his cheek was cut, but the only thing falling was Rain...

"Jerrod, make cover for us now!"

Jerrod created a barrier overhead just in time for them to see needle like rain bounce off of it. Rain had turned the falling water into sharp projectiles. Jerrod noticed Rain building up a ball of lightning in his hands.

"Stop him!"

Liu Kang shot the hottest fireballs he could create at Rain. Walls of water doused them before they could even get close to him, and Rain now had a hefty ball of electricity.

"Now you are going to die-d-d-di-die-di-d!" Rain spasmed.

His ball of elctricity had suddenly overcharged and exploded in his hands, zapping him with his own electricity. Adding the pouring Rain, and Rain was shocked into doing what looked like epileptic breakdancing.

"What's wrong with him?" Kitana asked.

"I don't know but look, the rain!" Liu told her.

They all looked up and noticed that, while the hurricane still raged on, the rain had become harmless again, and Jerrod lowered the barrier. Rain had recovered from his self electrocution and looked particularly shocked and annoyed.

"That was a minor slip up, now you'll be swept away!" Rain proclaimed.

Rain formed a large bubble of water in his hand and threw it at them. As flew at them, it expanded into a wave. However, Rain didn't realize that his power had also pulled a wave of water from behind him. All of them, including Rain, where swept off their feet.

"What? Why?" Rain asked aloud.

"Do you feel strong now, Rain?" Jerrod asked him condescendingly.

Rain stood up defiantly, but he was twitching noticeably. He looked like he was struggling to control his muscles.

"You've coveted this kind of power all your life; but you don't deserve it, and you can't control it!" Jerrod shot a green energy bolt at him.

Rain swiped his hand to the side to create a wall of water to block it, but also caused another wave of water to hit him from the side and knock him down again. Jerrod continued to advance on him.

"For all you pride, now in what should be your greatest moment, you are at your most pathetic."

"Pathetic? I'll show you pathetic!" Rain threatened.

He called down a lightning bolt...on himself accidentally.

"Pathetic." Jerrod told him.

Suddenly, Jerrod was stuck inside a bubble of water, a filled bubble of water.

"Who's pathetic now?" Rain mocked.

Kitana and Sindel tried to help him, but Rain seemed to have regained some control over his powers and combined his two elements; creating an electrified wave. It followed wherever his hand moved, and Kitana and Sindel couldn't get close without risking a fatal attack. While he held them at bay, a bolt of lightning prepared to strike the water bubble that Jerrod was trapped in.

"This may come as a shock to you..." Rain gloated.

The lightning bolt began it's descent. Time seemed to have slowed down; Jerrod clutched his throat, Kitana and Sindel stared wide eyed, Rain waited with anticipation...

"Hwah!" Liu shouted.

He did his signature flying kick; penetrating the bubble and kicking Jerrod out of it. However, he became trapped in it himself just as the lightning bolt struck the bubble. The shock spread through the water and into his entire body. Liu floated in the bubble, and then slumped to the ground when Rain released it.

"Liu!" Kitana screamed.

Jerrod sat up and saw Liu, with horror. Rain laughed triumphantly. Kitana fell to her knees at Liu's side, and Sindel and Jerrod joined her.

"He...he's not breathing. He's not breathing, and I can't feel his heart beat!" Kitana told them.

"Kitana..." Jerrod said quietly.

"We need to help him...you need to fix this..."

"Kitana..." Jerrod said again.

Sindel couldn't say anything, she was too busy holding back tears and sobs.

"Please...fix this..."

"Kitana..."

"No! He saved you, he died saving you! You never wanted him around but he still saved you, and now..." She put her head down on his chest, sobbing audibly.

Jerrod watched her cry, and had all the times that he had been rude to Liu come back to him, scolding him. He took Liu's hand in his, and for the first time in tens of thousands of years, he let himself cry.

"He's dead, the monk is finally dead. I did it!" Rain yelled into the sky.

At that moment, he lost control of his incredible power again and a shower of lightning bolts came down all around them. Kitana and Jerrod had to dive out of the way before one hit them, instead it struck Liu's body. Liu's eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat up.

"I don't wanna go to school...wait, what?" Liu said, confused.

"Your alive!" Kitana said before she hugged him tighter than ever before.

"Alive? Wait, I died?" Liu asked.

"You...saved me from being shocked to death. That lightning bolt must have acted like a defibrillator and restarted your heart." Jerrod told him.

"We thought we lost you." Sindel told him.

"Huh, wow. I think I went to heaven; there was clouds everywhere, and Raiden was there to. He looked surprised to see me there, and he was smoking a joint? Well whatever, that doesn't matter now."

Liu got to his feet, ready to end this. Rain looked like he had completely lost control of the power he had stolen from Argus. Water rained up, and static electricity caused debris to stick to him.

"I can't...I can't hold it..." Rain said with exhaustion.

"Alright everybody, lets finish this. Battle formation zeta five!" Liu ordered.

"What?" The other three asked.

"Uh, Sindel and Kitana, you hold him. Jerrod, follow my lead."

Following this poorly thought out plan, they did as he said. Sindel took a deep breath and unleashed a continuous scream that shattered the sound barrier. Rain covered his ears, but the screech still got through. Kitana opened both her fans and created an updraft that levitated Rain in the air while the scream still assaulted his ears.

"Liu..."

"Are you ready Jerrod?" Liu asked.

"Yes, but Liu I just wanted to say.."

"Okay lets do this!" Liu ran and jumped into a flying kick.

As he flew past Jerrod, he used Ermac's power to boost Liu incredibly fast.

"Thanks." Jerrod said.

"Hwaaaaaaaah!" Liu exclaimed.

He flew through the air at super speed, his foot like a bullet. He kicked Rain right in the gut. The kick was so strong that it literally kicked Rain's power out of him; he belched and Argus's power exploded out of him in the form of light beams.

The hurricane started to calm, and the rain died down. In a few moments, the sun shined again as the dark clouds passed. Sindel cleared her throat from her screaming, and Kitana dropped her fans because her arms we exhausted. Liu limped back to them; he had kicked Rain so hard that he sprained his ankle.

"Is it over?" Liu asked.

"Getbackinthecar!"

Raiden teleported down to them, and his eyes were even more red than before, and the smoky odour was more intense.

"It is over Liu...Liu?"

"Dammit Raiden." Liu said from underneath the god's feet.

"Oh, my apologies." Raiden helped him up.

"Raiden, the declaration that Argus made..." Jerrod said.

"Is irrelevant now. Rain ruined his chances because of his hidden plot...and because he absorbed Argus, well he really doesn't deserve to win now does he?"

"That's...bullshit!" Rain said.

He could barely stand, and he clutched his mid section. The godly glow he had before had faded.

"I am Rain...general, prince, god..."

"Demi god, and none of that matters now Rain. You are done." Raiden said.

The thunder god turned his back on him. That was the last attack that Rain's ego would suffer. Mustering up what little energy he had left, he called down a lightning bolt on Raiden. The thunder god was completely unaffected, though he turned on him angrily.

"You shocked me...me? Who the hell do you think you are? Wait, whats burning..." Raiden noticed the smell of burning straw.

He reached up and touched his hat and felt a large burnt spot on it.

"You insolent little bug, how dare you!" Raiden said angrily.

Raiden threw his staff like a javelin at Rain. It became impaled in his torso. Raiden raised his hands to the sky and a white light gathered above.

"You should've checked yourself, before you wrecked yourself." Raiden said.

Raiden called down the monstrous lightning bolt. His staff acted like a lightning rod and drew the electric current into Rain. The purple ninja was shocked to the point that his skeleton could be seen under his skin. After a mere five seconds, Rain had disintegrated into nothing. Raiden retrieved his staff and then turned on his friends, who looked more than a little afraid.

"Liu Kang, Kitana, enjoy the wedding." He said before disappearing.

"Wow, just like that, he's gone." Liu Kang said.

"I know, it's kind of..." Kitana began.

"Badass?" Liu tried.

"Yep."

* * *

><p><em>One Week Later<em>

It had taken about a week for the arena to be stripped down and cleared out. Now in it's place a lovely and expensive royal wedding ceremony. Flowers were everywhere, and all attendees were dressed their finest. Liu Kang stood up at the altar dressed in a tuxedo. Sub Zero, Jax, and Johnny Cage stood to his side in the same suit. Opposite of them were Sindel, Jade, and Mileena dressed in beautiful red dresses. Raiden stood at the altar as well, waiting to read the lengthy speech that would marry Liu Kang and Kitana.

Walking down the aisle, Kitana in a white bride's dress walked with her arm in Jerrod's. Jerrod had removed Ermac's face wrappings and worn a tuxedo as well. A piano played as they walked, and Liu and Kitana's eyes never left each other. The groomsmen smiled happily, and the bridesmaids stifled happy tears, even Mileena. Once Jerrod and Kitana reached the altar, Jerrod smiled happily a both of them before moving aside. Raiden began reading and soon enough he came to last and most important part.

"You may kiss the bride."

Liu Kang and Kitana kissed, and everyone began clapping. Even when they broke off the kiss, they looked like the two happiest people in the world...

"Liu, you are bleeding!" Raiden noticed.

"What?" Liu asked.

He felt some blood leak out of his nose. At first he though nothing of it, but then realized that blood was coming out of his eyes and ears as well. His head started to hurt as well.

"What's wrong?" Kitana asked worriedly.

"I don't know...oh...aw..." Liu clutched his head like it was about to explode.

Worried whispers spread amongst the watchers, and Liu fell to his knees in pain. Kitana leaned down to him, confused and feeling helpless.

"Whats happening? Liu..."

Suddenly Liu Kang's head exploded. Kitana was splattered with teeth, brain matter, eyeballs, and blood. People started screaming and guards struggled to calm them down. Kitana's shaking hand touched her face and she couldn't look away from Liu Kang's headless corpse. She couldn't believe this. After everything they had gone through, how could it end like this?

* * *

><p>"Wait, his head explodes?"<p>

"Yeah, what do you think?" Johnny asked into the phone.

"What do I think? It's terrible; the fighting, the attempted rape by that servant girl, gathering people to compete, flooding the bathroom, and he just dies in the end? It's so unsatisfying!"

"It's one hell of a twist! People will love it." Johnny insisted.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cage, but I'm going to have to say no. Goodbye."

"Hey, don't you hang up on me! Dammit Spielberg don't be so close minded, this movie will be a hit! No one says no to the Ca..."

"Alright that's enough Johnny!" Jax said, taking his phone back from Johnny.

"Hey I was doing business!"

"I let you use my phone because you said it was an emergency, not because you wanted to try and put together a crappy movie."

"Whatever man, this movie would have been badass."

"Yeah right. Come on before we're late."

The two of them walked out into the area where the wedding ceremony was set up, needing to push past buzzing servants carrying food, drinks, and decorations. Johnny wore the suit he would always wear to the Grammys, when he was invited that is, and of course his sunglasses. Jax wore his military outfit from when he graduated from the academy, along with a red beret. He looked like a general. They met up with Jade and Mileena near the altar.

"Lucky, Pinky, looking good as always." Johnny said with a smile.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Carlton." Jade told him.

"Ooh okay let's put the teeth away Jade. No offence Mileena."

"I'm not on the decorating committee, but I think this place needs a few splashes of red. Don't you think Johnny?" Mileena asked.

"Um..."

"Johnny one of these days your mouth is going to get you in trouble, especially when you talk like that to someone thats doesn't have as much of a sense of humour as Mileena." Sub Zero said, joining them.

"Oh Sub Zero, you know me so well." Mileena said sarcastically.

"It's part of my job."

"Damn, thats one hell of a tan you got there Sub Zero." Jax told him.

Sub Zero wore the armour of the Lin Kuei grandmaster, helmet and all. Most noticeable was his skin, which was once pale white but now bronzed.

"Visit the jersey shore later?" Johnny asked.

"No, I had an altercation with Scorpion, as you may have seen before."

"I think it looks good." Jade said.

"Yeah you would." Johnny muttered.

Sub Zero and Jade shot him looks, but Sindel's arrival saved Johnny.

"Hello everybody, you all look wonderful."

"As do you my queen." Jade said politely.

Sindel wore the regalia of a queen, including a crown.

"It looks like most of the guests are here, lets start getting in position." Sindel said.

They did so; the men stood on one side and the women the other. To everyone's appreciation, Raiden was already standing at the altar as well. He nodded to both parties. He noticed something was off though...

"Where's Liu Kang?"

On cue, Liu Kang came running out and up to the altar.

"Where have you been?" Raiden asked.

"Bathroom."

"Bathroom?"

"Bathroom." Judging by his tone, he didn't want say anymore on the matter.

All in attendance took their seats. Nearly all the attendees were either tanned like Sub Zero or had a case of the sniffles after they had thawed out. They all quieted down when Kitana, with Jerrod, still wearing Ermac's attire, walked down the aisle. Bryant and Eric, dressed back into his guard uniform, walked behind them. Bryant noticed Eric stealing looks at Kitana's ass, and he elbowed him roughly.

"Kitana..."

"Dad, you aren't supposed to talk right now. It's the rules."

"I don't give a damn."

"Really? You?"

"Oh hush. I just wanted to tell you that...I was wrong, about everything. And that I'm happy for you." Jerrod told her sincerely.

"Thanks. That means a lot."

Bryant stood by the men, and Eric by the women, next to Mileena coincidentally. Jerrod walked with Kitana up the rest of the steps before moving aside. Kitana and Liu Kang took each other's hands, smiling.

"Dearly beloved..." Raiden began.

Liu Kang had fallen half asleep during the reading. Kitana had to shake him twice. He gave Raiden a look that made the thunder god hurry. He skipped over a large portion of the reading to the last, and most important line.

"You may kiss the bride."

"Finally!" Liu exclaimed before kissing Kitana.

She returned the kiss with equal vigour. Everyone of the villagers attending stood up and clapped happily.

_I still think his head should have exploded._ Johnny thought.

Music started playing and people started digging into food and drink. Jerrod crept up behind Liu Kang and whispered something in his ear.

"I'm happy for you Liu...you're will be a good son."

"What was that?" Liu asked.

Jerrod whispered it again.

"I can't hear you, say again?"

"You'll be a good son!"

The words had come out louder, much louder than intended. Liu had held a microphone up when Jerrod had said it, and everyone present heard.

"Aww!" People began saying before clapping again.

Jerrod looked angry, but Liu couldn't help smiling and chuckling.

"Either way this ends, good luck? I get it now." Jerrod said kindly.

The two men hugged it out; they had finally accepted one another.

"Okay how about a picture?" A photographer asked.

They all stood in place and the photographer took the photo. From left to right it included: Bryant, Johnny, Jax, Sub Zero, Liu Kang, Jerrod, Kitana, Sindel, Jade, Mileena, and Eric. It was the perfect picture, except for Eric. His eyes were noticeably wide because Mileena had squeezed his ass.

* * *

><p><em>The Janitor's Office<em>

__"Hey Mark, did you remember to put out those 'Do Not Use' signs in front of the bathrooms?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"If the damn bathrooms are out of order, then yes you were supposed to, idiot."

"Alright I'm going, I'm going."

Mark grabbed the signs and strolled to the bathrooms. He couldn't believe they were still out of order. They hadn't been working since Liu Kang had used them, what a mess that was. He pushed the door open with his foot and suddenly slipped. The floor was covered in dirty water gushing from one of the toilets.

"Aw come on!"

* * *

><p><em>Epilogues<em>

Kano flew back to Australia for some R&R. He encountered Sonya at the airport, and she promptly arrested him. To make sure that she could make the charges stick, she planted some marijuana on him.

Reiko retired from the military; his ability to kick and walk would be forever compromised due to his pelvic injuries.

Tanya never recovered from what Mileena had done to her. She tried seeing a therapist, but Jade instead had her thrown in prison.

Reptile, thinking that perhaps it was time to give up on restoring his people, met Khameleon. The two dated and eventually had children; ten to be exact. Reptile now wished that he had given up on restoring his people sooner.

Scorpion returned to the Netherrealm. Quan Chi had accidentally used his line again, so Scorpion broke all his limbs. Not long after, Scorpion learned that Quan Chi killed his clan and family. Things inevitably got worse for Quan Chi.

Jax returned to his office to find that the paperwork had built up to the point that he couldn't enter his office.

Johnny went ahead and tried to make a movie based on his recent experience. It was nominated for worst film, worst director, and worst actor of the year. It won the award for worst actor of the year.

Mileena spends a lot of time with Eric. She still threatens to kill anyone who calls him her boyfriend, but Eric is okay with that. He is patient.

Sub Zero and Jade's relationship remained mostly off the radar; but the two of them frequently infiltrated the base of the other for important 'meetings'.

Sindel and Jerrod are still the reigning monarchs of Edenia. Jerrod has started to come out of his shell, or rather Ermac's face wraps, more and is more sociable. Sindel tried becoming an opera singer; the casualties were in the hundreds.

Liu Kang and Kitana are happily married and frequently visit Kitana's parents. They are expecting their first child.

"Wait, we're what?" Liu Kang asked.

* * *

><p><em>And that is the end. Thank you very much to everyone who has reviewed and anyone who may do so in the future. Remember, laughter is the cure for anything and everything. Please take a look at my other Moral Kombat stories Afraid of my Own Shadow and Made for Each other. As always, read, review, and enjoy!<em>


End file.
